The word for today is Joy. The French word for Joy, is Joy. (I can learn this kind of French vocabulary)
We’ve been wrestling with conflicting things we’ve heard in
the last few days and we thought we would share them with you.
Sunday morning we listened to a sermon by Tim Keller on
“Missions.” He used John 17:13-19
as his text and talked about the need for Jesus’ disciples to get out and
serve, and when we do that, it will bring “joy” to our lives. Joy! Not comfort, but Joy.
It struck us that it seems like we are always seeking joy in our lives
and here is a way Jesus says is a fool proof way we can get it. Joy should be a by product of ‘getting
out.”
Then we went to church Sunday night and the sermon was on
“Not giving up.” The man who was
giving the sermon asked, “How many of you at one time or another have just
wanted to give up and go home?”
Just about everyone raised their hands. Most of these people are missionaries who have given most of
their lives to be here or places like this, yet were not always feeling
joy. If anyone is going to feel
the joy from “getting out” then these people should be feeling it, yet, it’s
not always there.
Then one of our new friends here expressed just how hard it
was and how tired she was. To us,
if you have spent 20 years of your life in Niamey, you get to feel tired. But according to Jesus, aren’t you also
supposed to feel joy? She is
tired, not joyful. I’m not sure
“joy” has been the emotion that tops the chart for us either. Was Jesus wrong?
We think the answer lies in the word joy. It has two meanings. Each meaning can have a great impact on
our worldview. The meaning of joy
that Sally and I were using was one of pleasure. Some other words with this meaning are happiness, bliss, and
ecstasy. This definition is about
us and how we feel. I have to tell
you, you don’t always feel this joy in Niger.
The other definition of joy is delight. With delight, you don’t “delight”
something; you take delight “in” something. The focus of the delight is not you it is the thing you take
delight in. Our expectation of joy
had the wrong focus. Tim Keller is
still a good preacher and Jesus was not wrong. Getting out doesn’t always make us feel happier, getting out
gets us closer to Jesus so that we can increase our delight in him.
The people here are not always feeling pleasure and
happiness but they sure have a delight in the Lord. Maybe Jesus was trying to tell us that when we feel unhappy
or overwhelmed the best cure is to get out (out of ourselves) and find delight
in the Lord by serving wherever he might send you.
But there’s a worldview lesson here too. If our worldview is a belief that our
lives should be filled with times of pleasure and happiness we will experience
the highs of those times when we feel joy, but we will also feel those times when
we don’t. However, if our view is
a belief that our lives should be lived so that we take delight in the Lord,
then no matter where we are emotionally, we can do things to find a joy in the
Lord.
We’re working on changing our worldview while we are here. The change doesn’t come easy.
Boy, I guess conversations really change when you don't spend your nights watching "Dancing with the Stars".
ReplyDeleteA question to add to your theological gymnastics:
The "getting out" approach makes a lot of sense for those who are in secure and healthy environments. If Joy is found (primarily or only) in "getting out", what message does this bring to those who can't get out--the poor, abused, and downtrodden? "Getting out" is a message that can resonate with me (an affluent white male from the U.S.). How does this message translate to my neighbors around the world who are homeless, dying, etc?
Thanks for the continued thoughts and stories. We are so proud of you and thankful for how you inspire us. Keep going!
Mike
Anyone can get out, poor, rich, abused, or unabused. Anyone can care for/think about someone else instead of themselves and do it for God. It seems to be almost a state of mind. When we do it for God, we get closer to God. You don't have to go to Africa or the Northside to get out. There are needs everywhere, big and small. Is this not so?
ReplyDeleteStop arguing.
ReplyDeleteYour discussion shows the value of philosophy and questioning everything. A Stoic would probably say their is no joy...but we know differently.
ReplyDeleteI'm testing this for Sue Shulze - she says hi!!
ReplyDeleteI getting help to get started. Sue
ReplyDeleteHey i worked. At church waiting for the Director of FMF--more later. I love reading your messages! Sue
ReplyDeleteHi again, FMF director did afire job of bringing us up to date on the issues of homelessness and the work of FMF. It's amazing that there isn't more outrage over the situation. Tomorrow is a luncheon for Urban Homeworks. It seems you're now living a very simple life. In our culture we are surely stuck in a "can't get anything done" mode. Bob talked to Ted tonight. Continue to pray for Fran as she waits for a transplant. It''s very thought provoking to read your blogs. You are definitely out of your comfort zone. We miss you and pray for you! Sue
ReplyDeleteElgin & Sally,
ReplyDeleteYou are great and are giving us much joy in sharing your experiences that continue to show the beautiful Love of Jesus that emanates from you. May you both continue to realize the power that Jesus is passing through you and your blogs. Many thanks for your sharing and giving not only to the people of Niger, but to us...the many friends & neighbors of yours who love you. Diane & I pray for your good health, patience & realization of the many good works that you are doing in the name of Jesus.