Have You Opened It?

Is your life filled with joy?

This past Christmas, instead of reinventing a new way to communicate the birth of Jesus, we decided to focus on one of the major themes of Christmas - joy.

We used a three-part teaching series by Francis Chan called JOY. Few teachings have had the amount of impact on my life than this series. It just completely shipwrecked my perspective and challenged me to the core.

In Philippians 4:4, Paul commands us to "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice." This is literally a command to make the decision to have joy. And this verse set the rhythm for all three teachings.

But of the entire series, the most impacting lesson from what Francis shared was his stab at defining what true biblical joy actually is:

"Joy isn't something we just lose; we choose to throw it away. It isn't something that just happens to us; it's a decision. Joy is something we fight for."

After each teaching each week, we would debrief the message and help people begin the process of putting it into practice. I summed it up this way:

Joy is like a beautifully wrapped gift that we receive through Christ.

It has a fancy bow that glitters. It has a special place in our house. We sing about it. We write it in Christmas cards. Retailers use it to market their products. We smile at the very thought of it.

We assume that because we hold onto the gift, we possess it. But according to Paul's command in Philippians 4:4, we're taught that joy is a choice. Joy is a gift that must be opened.

How do we open the gift of joy?

By choosing to celebrate the good and not focus on the bad. Joy starts with being intentional about thanking God for all of the gifts He extends to us, and not focusing on what we don't have. If we made a point (daily) to consider His provision in our lives - temporal and eternal - we would find ourselves overwhelmed and literally bursting with the incredible gift of joy we recieve in Jesus Christ.

Have you taken the time to opened it?