Jump for joy! Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. The expression has the idea that there is something so good that you can’t just smile or shout. You have to move! Our second fruit of the Spirit is joy.
Last week we looked at love. How did you do showing love to the people around you. You can click HERE to find that lesson. The five love languages can change the way to think about showing love.
Joy might not be as complex as love, but it is powerful. How can a person experience joy in the midst of trial and suffering? How a smile be infectious? Why is it that the source of the joy makes such a difference? Let’s unpack these thoughts.
There are many things in life that bring us joy. Have you ever heard about the greased pig of happiness? The dictionary would define joy as a kind of happiness. I guess I can’t argue with that assessment, but the greased pig of happiness would say that there is a huge difference in the kind of joy we can experience depending on their source.
When a person tries to catch a greased pig, they get dirty. Spiritually speaking that can be dangerous to jump into the mud of sin with a wanton disregard for our spiritual safety. AND even if you do catch happiness, you won’t be able to hold onto it for very long. Some of the things that that get us spiritually dirty are fun, but that kind of short-lived joy isn’t worth it. The guilt that we carry on the back end of a muddy romp can leave us guilty and exhausted. Relationships can be ruined and the one thing that we truly need in life will have become more difficult to achieve – a right relationship with our God.
Want to hear more, including how God’s word is the source of our joy? Watch this week’s lesson from our series on Fruits of the Spirit – Joy.
Please click HERE for the Bible class slides.
Please click HERE to find the other lessons from our series.