Don't Be A Mule-Faced Christian

A little Sunday school boy, on his first trip to the country, made a significant comment after he had viewed with childish curiosity his grandfather's large white mule. "Mamma," he said, "Grandpa's mule must be a very good Christian."

The mother was surprised at the association of Christianity with an animal that can provoke un-Christian like language, so she asked little Jake the reason for his conclusion.

His ready answer was: "Because Grandpa's mule has such a long face."

Psalm 126:1-3" When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue with singing: then said they among the heathen, The Lord hath done great things for them. The Lord hath done great things for us; whereof we are glad."

Joy is one of the fundamental aspects of a true Christian. But, unfortunately, joy is not often immediately associated with Christianity. Someone once remarked, "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted so much like undertakers." Joy can be described as a strong feeling of pleasure, gladness, cheerfulness or celebration.

Joy is a fruit of God's Spirit and therefore should be a fundamental characteristic of all Christians. It is interesting to note that the Greek word that is translated "joy" ( chara ) and the Greek word that is translated "grace" ( charis ) share the same common root word. As Christians, we experience a great deal of joy through the grace of God. Prior to baptism we were condemned to die for our sins (Romans 3:23; 6:23). But we received a pardon; we received grace from God through Jesus Christ. Therefore, an appropriate response should be gratefulness and joy.

Happiness is a feeling that often eludes us because we cannot control everything that happens to us our lives. Christian joy, however, is unique from happiness because it does not depend on any circumstances to operate.

God has given us three reasons why we should be joyful.

(1) We should be joyful in light of God's grace. God's grace is bigger than any sin we've ever committed. He has forgiven us of our sins through Jesus Christ and desires to have an eternally significant relationship with us. God has given us a free gift that we do not deserve, so let's celebrate!

(2) We can be confident that even in the midst of our deepest life struggles, God is going to lovingly comfort us. Even if we lose our health, wealth, or loved ones, we know that nothing can separate us from God's protection.

(3) We should take joy in the fact our lives can be shared in community with other Christians. When speaking of the Body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12:26 says, "If one part suffers, every part suffers with it. If one part is honored, every part rejoices with it." We are not alone on our life journeys. We have a Christian support base that shares our burdens and our triumphs.

Three potential stumbling blocks to experiencing Christian joy are worrying, trying to earn God's love, and living outside the will of God. Christian joy has been made available to everyone, we just need to decide if we want to receive it or not and for heaven's sake show it in our expressions to a lost and dying world.