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<\/a><\/p>\nThe NT has quite a lot to say about joy, in various contexts, and about rejoicing, and not surprisingly there are plenty of Christmas hymns that emphasize joy, with major composer like Handel chipping in on this subject.\u00a0 Peter Gomme\u2019s chapter on the Bible and Joy, in his \u2018The Good Book\u2019\u00a0<\/em>one of the best treatments I\u2019ve ever read on the subject, and I will be interacting with and quoting him here.\u00a0 Perhaps the first major point he makes is that \u2018joy\u2019 is a reaction to outside stimulus, or sometimes inner stimulus, but in either case it is a reaction. \u201cThe examples of Moses and Mary and their slouching towards joy have always been a comforting set of examples for me, teaching me as they do that joy is an elusive consequence of something else, and not a first cause or primary habit of mind.\u201d (pp. 232-33).\u00a0 Part of his point is that it is difficult to be joyful on command, even though Psalms like Psalm 100 commands us to rejoice. But rejoicing doesn\u2019t in itself mean one is \u2018experiencing joy\u2019 and so Gomes says \u201cJoy is elusive; it cannot be summoned forth like an actor\u2019s tears.\u201d (p.233).\u00a0 Gomes sees joy as something like the meaning of how one responds to serendipity\u2013 undeserved and unlooked for benefit or blessing that produces thanksgiving and joy.<\/p>\nThere is an aspect of joy Gomes doesn\u2019t really consider, namely Paul says it is part of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians, a part that is mentioned right after the all important\u00a0agape<\/em>. That kind of joy is given through the internal work of the Spirit, and does not need external stimuli to be experienced.\u00a0 Indeed, often this kind of joy, prompted by the internal work of God in the soul of an individual is something external circumstances can neither give nor take away.\u00a0 Joy, as C.S. Lewis reminds in his \u2018Surprised by Joy\u2019 should not be confused with either general happiness or mere pleasure. But it has one trait in common with those two things. Once you\u2019ve experienced it, you will want more of it.\u00a0 Pleasure and even a modicum of happiness we may be able to give ourselves, but the joy the NT talks about comes from the Lord, being near to the Lord, being moved by the inward work of God\u2019s Spirit.\u00a0 Gomes goes on to say that \u2018the fullness of joy\u2019 comes when one sees things from God\u2019s perspective, gets a sense of the big picture and design of things, which is exciting and produces an \u2018AHA\u2019 moment. God is coming to make all things whole, and all manner of things well, and this produces joy.\u00a0 Just as Biblical hope is not mere optimism but rather an assurance of things hoped for based on God\u2019s past track record, so Biblical joy is not mere happiness, produced by mundane things like\u2026. oh, a new puppy.\u00a0 \u00a0As Gomes says, joy is not a natural substance that can be bought or sold, found in some drug or pill, it cannot be conjured up or contrived.\u00a0 But when joy comes, in the morning or any other time, unbidden, we rejoice in the Lord.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NT has quite a lot to say about joy, in various contexts, and about rejoicing, and not surprisingly there are plenty of Christmas hymns that emphasize joy, with major composer like Handel chipping in on this subject.\u00a0 Peter Gomme\u2019s chapter on the Bible and Joy, in his \u2018The Good Book\u2019\u00a0one of the best treatments […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":91,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-37748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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