Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

Fruit of the Spirit: Joy

God expects His people to be productive. When He came to earth He lived, taught and died and then He rose from the dead. He did this for a reason ... to change the world.

He created the church to accomplish that. When we say church, we don’t mean a building. We mean a group of Christians who have a unity of purpose. The purpose of the church is to make a difference in a lost and hurting world.

Jesus did not come back from the dead just to watch a bunch of His followers go sit in a building for an hour or so every week. That is not what a church does. The church is supposed to be full of people whose lives have been changed by Him.

Something happened when the church started identifying itself as a place instead of a people. The church lost its identity. The word "Church" should make us think of men and women who are different; people who are changed and who can make a difference in others.

How do we make someone's life different? We possess something that the world needs. We have something that they can never find on their own because it is only found in the church. We have joy. The church has everlasting joy!

So ... where is this joy? Do you think of joy when you go to worship with your church? When people hear the name of your church, is joy the first thing they think about? Look at these words of Paul:

Romans 15:13

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."

That is what the church is about - joy and peace overflowing from God's people into the world!

There are churches like that. (Honest! I have seen them.) But, there are also a lot of buildings out there, with a lot of people meeting in them, who think of themselves as churches even though you wouldn't be able to find a speck of joy anywhere near the place.

Joy should define who we are as Christians and it should be something people notice right away when they walk into our midst.

1 Peter 1:8-9

"Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls."

Doesn't that make you want to smile? It’s okay to do that. Smile and tell the world of what He has done for you. Show them your joy.