Advent 2009:: The Coming JOY Monday

Monday Joy
Joy is and elusive concept. Because it is elusive, we will spend our first day just thinking about the word and what intends to communicate.

Joy, as a concept, is especially elusive for us in the western world in 2009. The inclination of the mind is to bind happiness and joy together. This is a legitimate binding, there is happiness that comes from joy. However, happiness for the western world is bound up in our health, our bank accounts and having enough time to enjoy our hobbies. It is bound in our pursuit of the American dream. Our happiness is tied to how we are doing in that pursuit.

The joy that Jesus brought to the earth with his birth is so much more than the American dream.

The dictionary defines joy as the emotion of great delight or happiness caused by something exceptionally good or satisfying. The joy definition from scripture adds the word gladness. To be filled with joy is to be glad, to have pleasure, to be delighted, to be exceptionally happy.

Think of it like this: Happiness is something you feel on the surface. Joy is something you feel in your bones. It is not easily wiped away. The opposite of happy is sad. The opposite of joy is sorrow. There is a depth to joy. Joy is what Jesus brought into the world.