“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will
say, rejoice.”[1]
For
the next while, I will focus my prayerful meditation on this verse, and those
that follow.[2]I continue to consider Paul’s instructions in Philippians through
the central exhortation of “work out your
own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to
will and to work for his good pleasure.”[3]
This
means that I will be watching for the ways God is working in me and his church
to will to rejoice in the Lord always, and to work into practice true rejoicing
in the Lord at all times, and in all circumstances. And I will be considering
how to work these things out with fear and trembling, always conscious that God
is at work in me for his good pleasure and my complete joy.[4]
My
first thoughts on this verse lead me to consider it in contrasts. When Paul
urges his beloved brothers to rejoice “in
the Lord,” he calls them to a distinctive experience of rejoicing we cannot
find anywhere else. There is no reasonable facsimile to the rejoicing God’s
children can experience in their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
In
contrast to the wonderful reality and hopefulness of rejoicing in the Lord, to
tell people to, “Rejoice always! Again I
will say, Rejoice!” is to impose on them a hopeless expectation. The key,
and central, and life-giving, reason to rejoice is in the person and work of Jesus
the Christ. Telling a world filled with violence, religious hatred, godlessness
of all kinds, evolutionary meaninglessness, and natural disasters galore, that
people should simply rejoice instead of acknowledging their true feelings, is
both heartless, and hopeless.
At
the same time, to challenge people: “Rejoice
in (fill in the blank with anything you want) always; and again I will
say, rejoice,” is equally hopeless, and perhaps more deceptive. It is
hopeless to tell people to rejoice for no reason at all. It also is deceptive
to tell people that they can find every reason to rejoice in something other
than Jesus. Self-based joy is deceptively hopeless. Other-based rejoicing is
deceptively hopeless. Money-based, or possession-based joy is fleetingly
hopeless.
While
nothing-based joy, and wrongly-founded joy, are both hopeless, God speaks to
his children about something that is not only better, but is the most hopeful
reality that every child of God can experience. He presents the joyful song of,
“Rejoice IN THE LORD always; again I will
say, rejoice.” In so doing, he presents the most hopeful, certain,
encouraging, uplifting, promising exhortation for all the children of God.
It
would take far more than a Pondering to explain all the reasons that Jesus Christ
gives us cause, and hope, to rejoice always. However, there are three primary
realities in the Son of God that give focus to our hope and joy.
First,
Jesus Christ is our Creator, hence our ultimate rejoicing is found in
relationship with him, and coming home to his creative purposes for our lives.
Second,
Jesus Christ is our Redeemer, fully resolving the sin-problem that destroyed
our relationship to him and his Father. He alone can restore people to the
relationship with God that returns us to joy.
Third,
Jesus Christ is our Coming King. No matter what bad things happen in our world,
with increasing worldwide hatred of the children of God, Jesus himself will
return in glory, and fully return his brothers to eternal joy.
God’s
glorious word tells us, “You make known
to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your
right hand are pleasures forevermore.”[5] The fact that we can know Jesus Christ as Creator, Redeemer, and
Coming King, gives us reason to rejoice in him, and all we have in him. He will
lead us into his fullness of joy, and his eternal pleasures, at his return.
In
the meantime, immerse yourself in the word of God. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that my
joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”[6]Spend time drinking in the things Jesus has spoken to us. The joy he
gives us enables us to rejoice in him always, both now, and forevermore.
You
are invited to this joy.
© 2015 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
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