"The first
thing Scripture says about joy can be summed up in the beginning of the hymn Jesu
meine Freude [Jesus, my joy][1].
This is the keynote of the biblical proclamation of the birth of Christ, of the
advent of the kingdom of God in the fellowship of Jesus with his disciples, of
his resurrection and ascension. (Lk 2:10; Mk 2:19; Lk
24:41,52; Joh 20:20). God wants to make us glad through Jesus Christ. He does not want to depress us or
shoulder us with problems, he does not want to present us with insoluble
problems, but he wants us to rejoice in Jesus Christ and his rule...This
belongs to the simple things which we like to forget as we are engrossed in the
difficult things, namely that we learn to be chuffed about Jesus like children.
Is it not the worst case of ingratitude and obduracy of heart, if the one who
came for our salvation, for deliverance, now becomes a burden to us? If our joy
in Christ dwindles away, so does our love for him. Without joy in the Son of
God who became man and rose from the dead we get into grumbling, dissent and
sadness. But how do we find such joy? Only through the firm belief: Jesus
lives! If it is really true that Jesus lives, that he testifies himself to us,
guides and helps us, how can we be other than glad like the disciples when they
saw him on Easter Day? (Joh 20:20)
Those who
have found Christ walk their way with joy, in their joy they go and sell all
that they have and buy the precious pearl (Mt 13:44 [cf. v.46]). Those who do
not walk the way of Jesus become sorrowful like the rich young man (Mt 19:22).
Those who commit themselves entirely to the way of Jesus will become glad in
it. Such joy proves itself also in the suffering which this way can bring for
us (Mt 5:12; 1. Pet 4:13ff; 2. Cor 6, 10; Phil 2:17; Col 1:24; Heb 10:24 et al.).
The basis of all such joy is the nearness of Jesus (Phil 4:4). Ach, mein
Herr Jesu, dein Nahesein... [My dear Lord Jesus, your
closeness...][2]. At
the same time there is the confidence that it is exactly in this way that the
work of Jesus Christ on earth is fulfilled and completed (2 Tim 2:10). Thus the
things that should bring us affliction and annihilation, by God’s wonderful
grace, only strengthen our joy. If we remain in the proper joy, then it is
really true: ‘No one will take your joy from you’ (Joh 16:22) because this joy will
last into eternity (1 Pet 1:8).
The
church is a fellowship of joy. All rejoice in the special grace received by one
(1 Cor 12:26). John does not know a higher joy that seeing his children walk in
the truth (2 Joh 1:4; 3 Joh 1:4; cf 1. Cor
13:6). Paul invites his church to participate in the joy of his suffering for
Jesus Christ (Phil 2:17). Jesus calls for joy with him over every sinner who
repents. The whole of Lk 15 is governed by this call (15:6,9,23,32; cf 2 Cor 7:9f).
Christians are a daily source of joy for one another (1 Thess 2:19; Phil 4:1).
Those who have their eyes open for their fellow Christians can never lack a
reason to be joyful. Isn’t it astonishing to know that not only Jesus is our
joy but also our Christian brother or sister? Do we not have reason enough
today to be filled with this joy?"
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Das erste was die Schrift über die Freude sagt
