Joy and New Beginnings
"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (James 1:2-4)
For those in the midst of the battle, I doubt that many see the trials and tribulations that they are experiencing as a particularly joyful event. As I look back over the past year, I can honestly say that I am thankful that 2009 is firmly behind me as it seemed to be a year full of trials. And if I am being completely honest, I don't recall "joy" being one of the emotions that I associated with those events. Yet now that I have had an opportunity to reflect on those events, from a safe distance mind you, I am beginning to understand what James meant as he wrote those words.
Perception it seems is a matter of perspective. How we view our life, the good, the bad and the ugly, seems to be based upon our perception of what we can see, touch, feel and experience. When life is going well, our senses relate to our perception of good where as when life is not going so well, our senses relate to our perception of bad. And yet as Christians, I firmly believe that there is something else that we must consider in all things. That is, how does God see these experiences...
In Hebrews 12:2, we read "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
There is that word again - joy. And yet the scripture clearly states that Christ viewed this event as a "joy set before him." The implication here then is that Christ viewed this as something more than what it appeared to be to mortal eyes. Christ's sacrifice at the cross wasn't simply a matter of simple endurance. Rather, Christ's sacrifice at the cross brought peace and established a new covenant between God and man. Christ found the lost sheep, paid the ultimate price for their deliverance (a shameful price as written in the scriptures) and then established a bridge so that all who call upon the name of the Lord and repent of their sins have access to the Father without fear or condemnation, but rather love, grace and mercy. The "joy" that is described here provided the lost - you and I - sinners all who had no possible way of coming to the Father of our own accord, with a new beginning....
When I was just out of college (many, many years ago) I used to hate the new year. Back then, what the new year represented to me was an overcrowding at the gym by those who had "resolved" to get back into shape. The gym became crowded with people who were clueless about how things worked, where things were at and worst of all, they were forever in my way. What had taken an hour prior to these "new beginnings" now stretched into two hours and only worsened as everyone frantically tried to shower and leave the facility to continue on with their day. Yet the resolve of the new year didn't last long for most and my joy was soon realized by about mid-February when the gym once again belonged to me and a few other faithful who had the decency to stay out of each others way...
And although I must admit that I still find a certain amount of joy in that at the gym that I go to now, my greatest joy is to witness those who have discovered a new beginning with our God through Christ our Savior. And so to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I urge you now to stop and reflect upon the giants of the past year with new eyes - those of our Heavenly Father. What do we need to see through His eyes to claim our "joy" and "new beginning"? Whatever that may be, Knight Vision Ministries is here to walk with you. I leave you, with the words of Paul from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Your brother in Christ,
Jim
For those in the midst of the battle, I doubt that many see the trials and tribulations that they are experiencing as a particularly joyful event. As I look back over the past year, I can honestly say that I am thankful that 2009 is firmly behind me as it seemed to be a year full of trials. And if I am being completely honest, I don't recall "joy" being one of the emotions that I associated with those events. Yet now that I have had an opportunity to reflect on those events, from a safe distance mind you, I am beginning to understand what James meant as he wrote those words.
Perception it seems is a matter of perspective. How we view our life, the good, the bad and the ugly, seems to be based upon our perception of what we can see, touch, feel and experience. When life is going well, our senses relate to our perception of good where as when life is not going so well, our senses relate to our perception of bad. And yet as Christians, I firmly believe that there is something else that we must consider in all things. That is, how does God see these experiences...
In Hebrews 12:2, we read "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God."
There is that word again - joy. And yet the scripture clearly states that Christ viewed this event as a "joy set before him." The implication here then is that Christ viewed this as something more than what it appeared to be to mortal eyes. Christ's sacrifice at the cross wasn't simply a matter of simple endurance. Rather, Christ's sacrifice at the cross brought peace and established a new covenant between God and man. Christ found the lost sheep, paid the ultimate price for their deliverance (a shameful price as written in the scriptures) and then established a bridge so that all who call upon the name of the Lord and repent of their sins have access to the Father without fear or condemnation, but rather love, grace and mercy. The "joy" that is described here provided the lost - you and I - sinners all who had no possible way of coming to the Father of our own accord, with a new beginning....
When I was just out of college (many, many years ago) I used to hate the new year. Back then, what the new year represented to me was an overcrowding at the gym by those who had "resolved" to get back into shape. The gym became crowded with people who were clueless about how things worked, where things were at and worst of all, they were forever in my way. What had taken an hour prior to these "new beginnings" now stretched into two hours and only worsened as everyone frantically tried to shower and leave the facility to continue on with their day. Yet the resolve of the new year didn't last long for most and my joy was soon realized by about mid-February when the gym once again belonged to me and a few other faithful who had the decency to stay out of each others way...
And although I must admit that I still find a certain amount of joy in that at the gym that I go to now, my greatest joy is to witness those who have discovered a new beginning with our God through Christ our Savior. And so to you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, I urge you now to stop and reflect upon the giants of the past year with new eyes - those of our Heavenly Father. What do we need to see through His eyes to claim our "joy" and "new beginning"? Whatever that may be, Knight Vision Ministries is here to walk with you. I leave you, with the words of Paul from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Your brother in Christ,
Jim
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