I made a recent post about happiness. This week, I want to take it up a notch. Happiness on steroids.

The best term I can come up with is Joy.

We all experience joy from time to time. We meet people who are joyful most of the time and we wonder how they do it…….is it some kind of a trick? I’m sure we would like more joy. So……how do you increase the joy in your life? A good starting point is to assess the things that bring you joy.

Here is my list:

Sitting in a field watching the sun come up……especially on a crisp fall morning when the maples and sassafras trees are bright red and orange.

A loving touch from my wife.

A conversation with one of my granddaughters.

A pileated woodpecker in my yard.

The list goes on.

Some of these are things that I can seek out. Others cannot be “arranged”…….but even with these, we can run our lives in a manner that makes them more likely.

I can get up before sunrise, make a pot of coffee, and sit in my back yard.

I can arrange for quiet, private time with my wife.

I can take a granddaughter out to lunch.

I can give someone a hand…..especially when they don’t expect it.

I can avoid situations that are joyless.

For example:

Watching another “shoot ’em up” on TV.

Listening to some “talking head” selling his political agenda………often filled with hate.

Worrying about things that I cannot change.

Hurting the people who hurt me….by what I say and do.

These acts of commission……..or omission do not guarantee joy. But, they will increase the probability of joy. If you can consistently pursue the things that bring you joy and avoid the things that are joyless, you will become a more joyful person. And there are consequences that flow from this.

Your joy will spread to those around you.

Your joy will grow.

And that’s a good thing……right? But, let’s dig down a little bit. Why do we seek joy?

I believe that joy is our natural state. The desire for joy is written on our heart. It was put there by our creator. If you could describe God in one word…….that word would be love. Joy is love’s sibling. I have heard it said that joy is the surest sign of the presence of God. Look closely at the teachings of Jesus. They will all lead you…..indirectly…….to joy. Christianity, at its core, is a religion of love and joy. If you see someone who claims to be a Christian but who is not joyful most of the time, you are looking at someone who is either a “poser” or someone who just doesn’t understand.

I believe that the primary characteristic of paradise will be joy. What’s not to love about that?

So…..adopt the practices that will grow joy in yourself…..and in others. It will be a good warmup for paradise.

These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus in John 15:11, ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Galatians 5:22-23,ESV

As is my habit, I got up this morning, buttered some toast, made a cup of coffee and did my morning Bible reading. It is Sunday. It slipped up on me……again. And I had nothing for today’s blog. So, I laid back and quietly listened……..nothing. I sensed that, even though it is cold, I should go for a walk. Maybe there was something for me there. It is a cold, dry, cloudless night. The stars are spectacular……especially Orion. I walked…… I listened…….still nothing. My dog Jet was with me. I decided to build a fire in the fire pit. But first, I went back into the house…….just for a minute.

I told Jet, “stay……wait……I’ll be right back”……and I left him standing there…….out in the cold……alone. He was puzzled……sad……maybe even disappointed. He didn’t understand. He probably felt abandoned.

Just like me…….when I find myself in a spiritual “dry patch”.

And I think that this is the message for today. Sometimes God just walks away…….without any explanation…….without any reason that we can detect. Sometimes, God just leaves us alone. We are confused, sad, disappointed. We feel abandoned. Some of us turn away from God. We say, “he wasn’t there for me when I needed him……I’ll show him “.

The Bible spends a lot of ink on the presence of God…..on the times when he acts with us……for us. There is very little ink spent on the times when he just goes away. Jesus often went away to pray and meditate. He left his disciples to fend for themselves. Ever wonder how they felt? The closest relationship in the Bible was between Jesus and his father. Yet, even with Jesus…….in his greatest moment of need…….during the crucifixion…..God walked away.

But, here’s the thing:

I came back. I kept my promise. And Jet and I enjoyed the fire……and the beautiful night sky…….and each other.

God always comes back to his people. Even when he lets us sit out in the cold and dark for a while. We don’t understand the why. We don’t know the timing. We don’t have a clue as to what he was doing while he was away. Those things are not for us to know. What is required of us…….is to stay……to wait……until he returns. This calls for trust and faith. God asks that I be as trusting and faithful as Jet. That is my job.

Sometimes God speaks……..even in the silence.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.

Psalm 22:1-2, ESV

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

Mathew 27:46 ESV

One of the recurring themes of the Bible is that this world is imperfect. And more importantly……..it is temporary. Even the pure scientists agree. We just disagree on the time frame and on the details. This means that the earth, mankind as we know it, and our culture……..will end. Today I will dive into the end of the world……..according to the Bible……..according to the guy who created it……..according to God. You probably have figured out that this week’s post is mainly for the mature Christian. If you are a secular humanist, you might enjoy it for its entertainment value. If you are just dipping your toe into Christianity, this is where mankind is headed…….someday. Please understand, I am not trying to draw any parallels between Biblical prophesy and current events or personalities. I will not be digging into current events to identify the antichrist. That has been tried before.

The Bible is loaded with prophesy. Much of it is vague and deeply buried in symbolism. I have a hard time working my way through Daniel and Revelation. My Bible reading today includes the second chapter of Paul’s second letter to the Thessalonians. To my eye, this is the clearest biblical description of the end. Paul describes a series of events:

A period of increasing lawlessness brought on by a delusion based on lies.

Behind the Delusion is a man of lawlessness who is being restrained by another being.

Lawlessness will increase until there is a rebellion. This will occur when God is ready.

During the rebellion, the being who is restraining the man of lawlessness will be removed freeing the man of lawlessness and things will go from bad to worse.

The man of lawlessness will set himself up…..as God……and will perform miracles.

Jesus will destroy the man of lawlessness and usher in a time of peace for his followers…….and pain for non-believers.

So…..what are the practical implications of this?

First, I don’t know where we are on this continuum and neither do you and neither does your preacher.

Second, things are bad and they are going to get much worse.

Third, at some point, there will be a division between those who believed the truth and those who believed the delusion. One group will be rewarded, the other will be punished.

You may ask: isn’t this unfair……isn’t this exclusionary. You may conclude that you don’t like this ending……that you don’t like this God and his “religion”.

But, I would say that you are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking, “do I approve of this ending?” You should be asking, “is it true?”

I say that it is true…….because Jesus says that it is true.

And a man who rose from 3 days in a tomb is a man I can trust.

for that day will not come until the rebellion occurs and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the man doomed to destruction. He will oppose and will exalt himself over everything that is called God or is worshiped, so that he sets himself up in God’s temple, proclaiming himself to be God.Don’t you remember that when I was with you I used to tell you these things? And now you know what is holding him back, so that he may be revealed at the proper time. For the secret power of lawlessness is already at work; but the one who now holds it back will continue to do so till he is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of his mouth and destroy by the splendour of his coming. The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with how Satan works. He will use all sorts of displays of power through signs and wonders that serve the lie, and all the ways that wickedness deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie ¹² and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.

Paul, second Thessalonians, 2:3-11, ESV

We are all looking for love.

Bear with me here……I’m going to back into this…….how to find love. Because there are lots of people out there struggling to find it. And it is hard to find……if you don’t know what it is.

There is a lot of pain going around. I look at the people around me and many of them are hurting. These are people whom I love. On a first glance, if you ask asked me what I want for them, I would say that I want their pain to go away. But, then I consider people who are in pain who seem to be doing well. These people carry their pain with grace, dignity, and, yes, with joy. Maybe pain relief is not what we all need. So……what is my wish for the people in my world who are hurting?

I want them to be happy.

And it occurred to me that this is the beating heart of a good working definition of love.

Love means that you want the other guy to be happy. Not only that……..you do something about it.

That could mean buying them an ice cream cone. Certainly, that is an expression of love. But, a much more powerful love is a love that looks down the road and works to maximize their happiness when you consider their entire life……..their eternity. After all, maybe the ice cream is bad for their diabetes.

So…..an even better definition of love is that you work for the long term happiness of the other guy.

Sounds pretty straightforward.

And then Christianity enters the mix…….and things get much harder.

Christianity teaches love. Anybody who sells you something that they call Christianity…….but that is not permeated by love……..is a liar…….or perhaps worse.

A Christian is required……required…….. to do two things:

Love God
Love everybody else

That’s it…..that’s all.

Christian love is not an abstract……warm, fuzzy, feeling kind of thing. It is active. It is concrete. Christian love has feet. It is……..it does. So what does this look like in practical terms.

There is no better example……there is no better teacher……than Jesus.

Jesus took off his God outfit and came to us to teach us how to love. For three years he explained the theory of love. And then he voluntarily submitted himself to a brutal death.

Why?

Because he wanted to make us happy…….in the long run……in an eternal time frame.

The crucifixion is the greatest practical act of love in human history. It is not some random event that happened to Jesus. He chose it. Consider that for a minute. The fact that Jesus voluntarily chose the cross changes everything.

We are told to take up our cross and follow this man…..Jesus. I have never been comfortable with this metaphor, because I never understood it…….until today.

Taking up our cross means doing the hard, practical work of loving the other guy…….of making him happy……in an eternal time frame.

So……if you want to spot love……look for the people doing the hard practical work of making others happy……in the long run.

“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends”.

Jesus in John 15:13, ESV

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Jesus in John 15: 9-11

“The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus in Mark 12:29-31, ESV

“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.

Jesus in Luke 9:23, ESV