The Fruit of the Spirit - Pt 3

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23 ESV). The next word Paul uses to describe the fruit of the Spirit is “joy.” It is the Greek word "chara." This word means "cheerfulness or gladness". Its root means "to be cheerful or to be well-off; to be glad". Joy is so much more than mere happy moments or a laughing matter. Joy originates because of a more meaningful source. Hebrews 12:2 says: "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has set down at the right hand of the throne of God". What was this joy that was set before Him? And how could this joy be strong enough to cause Him to endure the cross and despise the shame such suffering would bring? I believe Christ's joy was centered in His Father. Because of that He also saw you and I in need of the work only he could accomplish. Humanity is the object of God’s joy. His unconditional love for us stirs a phenomenal joy because of us. His sacrifice on that cross, dying for our sins would position us towards salvation; fellowship with God Almighty! That is the joy that was set before Him! Mere laughter or happiness has no real root. Both have superficial causes. Real joy as a fruit of the Spirit is deeply rooted in a person! We are God's joy and He is ours! The Gospel ignites real joy! It is founded in the salvation message. It is always connected to redemption (cf. Luke 15:7). Because joy is not a reaction to emotion or connected to circumstance but rooted in the presence of God in our lives, we can rejoice in the Lord always (cf. Philippians 4:4). Bruce Larson tells a story of a particular church conference in Omaha. People were given helium-filled balloons and told to release them at some point in the service when they felt like expressing the joy in their hearts. Since they were not typically free to express their joy verbally in a service, it began a bit slowly. However, all through the service balloons ascended. Sometimes it was during a particularly inspiration quote or reading; at other times it was during an instrumental solo or choral rendition of a hymn. When the service came to an end, over one-third of the balloons were unreleased. Perhaps it was because the exercise itself was flawed. After all, real joy has nothing to do with how we feel; it is centered in who we are at our core. Being the children of God ought to produce within us a sense of the great benefits that are ours in eternal life. At least for me, when I think about what awaits me on the other side, I can let my balloon go easily! How about you?