One of the strange and wonderful markers of a Christian is a surprising kind of joy. It is a joy that is unique from worldly happiness, because it is not dependant on our circumstances being favourable and it is not self-centred. If you google search “happiness” you’ll quickly see that happiness is a billion dollar industry. It is on the contemporary mind. It’s easy to be swept away in the tide of media that says you deserve your personal happiness above all things. Is this what Jesus says to us? Does God care about our joy, or does he want us to carry our cross? Do we have to give up our toys to carry our cross? How can we find this unshakeable joy that loves others? We can find it through faith in Christ, we can hold onto it through hope in suffering, and we pour our that same joy to others in sacrificial love.
