BIBLE PASSAGE:
Your love has given me great joy and encouragement,
because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.
(Philemon 1:7)
MEDITATION:
The word ‘joy’ (or some form of it) is mentioned in the scriptures
over 240 times. Since it is used that many times, we have to believe
that God wants us to have joy in our lives, right? Some synonyms
for ‘joy’ are: delight, happiness, gladness, jubilation, rejoicing, glee,
exhilaration, bliss, elation. Sounds like something that is good for
us and those around us, doesn’t it?
Love is an emotion in action that creates joy for others. People are
different and consequently they express love in many different ways.
We can miss out on enjoying the love from others if we expect them
to show love in the same way that we do.
God’s desire for us is quite different than the world we live in. Oh
sure, we have some ‘feel good’ phrases that popup at times, but
overall we live in a negative environment. Many people spend an
inordinate amount of time focusing on the faults of others, rather
than looking for, and enjoying their good qualities. Granted, in
some people the good qualities may not be easy to find, but we
have to understand that we have faults too, and God loves us anyway.
We know there are some folks who seem like they will never change;
we have a responsibility to pray for them, and depend on God to
change them rather than exasperating ourselves by trying to force
them to change.
If we spend our life trying to change others, we will develop
frustration over our failed attempts, which can cause us to
be irritated and develop disdain, and possibly anger, toward
them. If we aren’t careful, we can develop a negative attitude
that affects us in the worst way. That doesn’t sound like a
formula for joy in our lives, does it?
Paul had a passion and great concern for the souls of others and
he wanted them to fully experience the joys associated with being
a Christian. In his missionary journeys and in his letters to various
churches, he showed a desire to help them understand what they
could be missing out on as followers of Christ.
He also wanted them to know that they would be under attack from
the evil one. It doesn’t appear that Paul tried to change others, but
he did try to create an awareness in them of the things that prevented
them from experiencing joy in their lives.
One of the things that helped Paul in his efforts to bring attention
to the threats believers were facing is: he appears to focus on their
outside threats, and not their personal faults.
I don’t believe it was because he was unaware of their faults, but
his goal was to encourage them to allow the Lord to be a greater
part of their lives, and not to discourage them by pointing out
the faults they already knew they had.
This patriot of Christianity who experienced a dramatic change
in his own life (which reversed his life goals) knew that he, like
others, also had faults. He was aware of the war raging within
himself, so he understood that others were also fighting battles
in their own lives. Look at the comments he made about himself.
I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do
I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15)
For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do
not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what
I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is
sin living in me that does it. So I find this law at work:
Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me.
(Romans 7:19-21)
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from
this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God,
who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! So
then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law,
but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin.
(Romans 7:24-25)
Because Paul was a realist and knew the sinful nature in his own life,
he understood that the bad habits of others was driven by this same
sinful nature of his. We see in Paul a genuine desire to defeat sin and
do good things, but we also see his frustrations of not being able to
overcome evil on his own.
He was not someone in denial who tried to gloss over his own faults
in an effort to appear to be more righteous than anyone else. Nor
was he someone who lied to himself in an effort to convince himself
that he was a self-righteous person without faults.
Can’t you just sense the relief in Paul when he expressed his
thankfulness that God, through Jesus Christ, would win the
battle for him? He knew that a sinful nature would always be
with him, but he made a choice to allow his mind to be under
God’s control. This gave Paul the ability to understand others
and to remember that God loves him unconditionally, which
created joy in his own life.
When he lists the fruits of the Spirit,
we see that love, joy and peace are the first three.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
I believe that Paul knew what love, joy and peace felt like
because he experienced them in his own life.
ACTION:
If the Spirit of God is not living in us, then we are under the
control of the things opposed to Him. Rather than focusing
on the faults of others and how they treat you, be honest about
your own faults and how you treat others. Learn to enjoy the
good qualities of others and how to tolerate their bad qualities.
Look at a few of the opposites of the fruits of the Spirit of God
(do any of these describe you?).
Love opposites:
animosity, hatred, apathy, dislike, indifference.
Joy opposites:
depression, sadness, misery, unhappiness, sorrow, discouragement.
Peace opposites:
hatred, turmoil, worry, agitation, discord, disharmony.
Forbearance (patience) opposites:
impatient, intolerant, resistance, insubordination.
Kindness opposites:
animosity, hostility, selfishness, thoughtlessness, ill will.
Goodness opposites:
evilness, wickedness, jealousy, envy, contempt, discouragement.
Faithfulness opposites:
corrupt, dishonest, unfaithful, lying, unreliable, unstable.
Gentleness opposites:
harshness, abruptness, coldness, covetousness, intolerance.
Self-control opposites:
self-indulgence, excessiveness, unrestraint, self-gratification.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your unconditional love for me!
Help me to love others in the way that You love me. Teach me how
to enjoy the good qualities in others, rather than spending most of
my time thinking and talking about their faults. Remind me not to
ignore their sinful ways, but to pray for them, rather than trying to
change them. Help me to avoid being a discourager, but to be an
encourager with confidence that when I pray for others, You will
hear my prayers and change their hearts. Forgive me for allowing
myself to develop bad attitudes which cause me to miss out on joy
in my life. Forgive me for the bad choices I have made regarding
others, and my lack of honesty about myself. Teach me the joy of
lifting the spirits of others, so that I will avoid the harmful effects
it has on me when I focus only on their bad qualities. Help me to
accept myself as You do, so that I can accept others as You do.
Remind me that I too am imperfect, but because of the sacrifice
of Jesus, I can appear righteous in Your eyes.”
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