Rejoice with great joy
Someone I love beyond words spoke to me on the phone just a while ago. The note that follows tells you how her call affected me.
How it pleases me to hear your tears of joy when you hear something
of the gospel that lifts your heart. If a choice had to be made I would
rather hear and see that in you than hear that you earned a Ph.d or
became famous.
You must rejoice greatly in the fact that you rejoice in this way.
To rejoice in something (anything) implies an inner shaping and
structure. We can't pretend to rejoice (not to ourselves)--we either do
or we don't. If we rejoice it's because we are so shaped within that
when this or that is experienced it brings us pleasure. It doesn't
matter if it's strawberries and cream or a long drink of cold water or
the sight of a playful pet. There are those that are not capable of
enjoying the sunshine or good food or the other blessings that we take
for granted and that's a great sadness.
To be able to rejoice in the gospel is a gift from God.
It isn't only a gift from God; it's proof that God has been at work
in us. At work in us overcoming all the things that would lead us to be
indifferent to the gospel. Our rejoicing is proof that God has poured
out his love into our hearts (Romans 5:5).
So the rejoicing is not only a deeply pleasant experience it is one
of the proofs that God has entered us and called us to himself. It is
one of the proofs that we have peace with God. These occasions of deep
pleasure are momentary and passing occasions, when he who always dwells
in us comes to visit. It's as though someone we long to see rings the
doorbell, we open it and there he is. "I just thought I'd drop by for a
while. I want you to know I'd miss you if you weren't around." Our
hearts surge with that emotion that's so pleasurable it's almost painful
and we throw our arms around him and welcome him in.
Such moments come to us as "moments". They pass. But not in the
sense that they are "merely passing" things. They are moments when the
lasting relationship makes itself felt especially amid the business and
cares of life.
To be able to rejoice in God and his gospel is a profound experience so rejoice in the fact that you can rejoice.