Word for Wednesday
And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. 1 John 1:4
Does anybody ever write to you? And when they do, what is the purpose of their writing? People write to me for various reasons. Some want to pass on information that they want me to know. Some write a greeting on a birthday or anniversary. Some write to invite me to an event of some kind. Some write to urge me to invest in their projects. Others write to warn me of one or another sort of hazard (in their opinion). Yet others write to criticize, correct, or reproach me for a real or imagined fault. With all of those reasons for writing, and most of them either a negative or a nuisance, isn’t it wonderful to encounter somebody whose primary purpose in writing is that our joy will be full?
John’s words in our text remind us how much his heart was like that of his Lord. He is almost echoing the words of the Lord Jesus in John 15:11: ‘These things have I spoken unto you, that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full’. This is one of God’s great purposes for us, that we would be filled with joy. It is true that our joy will be filled when we arrive in Heaven, but that is not what Jesus was talking about or what John was writing about. They would never have spoken or written about our joy being full if it wasn’t possible here and now. So here is the secret to being filled with joy: learn what the Lord Jesus spoke and what John and other Bible writers wrote, and apply them in our lives. Obedience to the Word of God – and we have to know it before we can obey it – will fill us with joy.
The world certainly is not filled with joy! The news reports are filled with disasters, disputes, and disappointments. The world’s search for fun finds only temporary and destructive pleasures. Every aspect of life around us is a mad rush to selfish fulfillment, greed, and lust. And yet, in all this negativity and sorrow, there is for the child of God the prospect of a life filled with joy. Why would we not seize this prospect and appreciate what our Lord offers us? -Jim MacIntosh