Dear Grayson,
13. That’s crazy that you are already 13. If you were Jewish this would be your Bar Mitzvah year. Jews really know how to celebrate coming of age. But so do us Christians and it was a joy and a privilege to celebrate with you on Saturday and to share some Pop Pop words of encouragement along with all the other men that are investing in your life. I wanted to document what I said so that it doesn’t get lost and forgotten in the fog of time gone by.
As you know, your Dad asked me to share some thoughts with you about one of the fruits of the Spirit – joy.
Let me start with a definition of biblical joy. Joy is much more than experiencing happiness or pleasure. It is a deep abiding sense of gladness, peace, and contentment – regardless of your circumstances – that is rooted in your relationship with God. In other words, we can experience joy even when we are dealing with trials and suffering and the harshness that often comes in this life. The key word in that definition for me is the word “abiding.”
So let me show you why abiding is the secret sauce to experiencing the unmitigated joy of the Lord.
In John 15:11 Jesus says to His followers, “These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” The obvious question to ask when you ponder that verse is what are “these things?” The word abide shows up 10x in verses 4-10 so it is the key to understanding verse 11. So let me answer two really important questions:
What does it mean to abide? Jesus uses the illustration of a vine and a branch. As long as a branch is connected to the vine and drawing it’s nourishment from the vine then it WILL produce fruit. So abiding has to do with commitment, connection, and clinging fiercely to the vine. Jesus identifies Himself as the True Vine in verse 1, so when we are committed, connected, and clinging to Him we are abiding. When we are finding our nourishment in Him and from Him then we are abiding. But note that when He says He is the True Vine He implies that there are a lot of false vines that often capture our attention and allegiance and commitment. When we try to nourish our souls by abiding in false vines such as success, money, or sex we actually end up malnourished. It would be like eating a consistent diet of junk food. You would have the feeling of being full but little by little you would actually be killing your body. When our souls become malnourished, when we stop abiding in the True Vine, it is impossible to experience the joy that Jesus promises.
How do we abide? Jesus gives us two specific ways in this passage that answer this question. Verse 7 says, “If you abide in me and my words abide in you…” So a key to abiding is to make God’s Word a priority in our lives. Read the Word. Ponder the Word. Memorize the Word. Study the Word. Listen to the preaching of the Word. Sing the Word. Talk about the Word with others. Pray the Word. Obey the Word. Being a man of the Word will go a long way toward fostering an abiding relationship with Jesus. Secondly, verse 9 says, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.” Never forget that it was Jesus’ love that compelled Him to go to the cross. So think often about the cross. Think often about how our Savior suffered so that we would not have to suffer the consequences of our own sin. Think often about how you were once far from God but have now been brought near… because of the magnanimous love of Jesus. Let it daily wash over you and refresh you. Abide in His love. Paul’s prayer for his friends in Ephesus is that they would be rooted and grounded in Christ’s love, and “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that they may be filled with all the fullness of God.” (Ephesians 3:17-19). When you abide in God’s love like that you will experience undiluted joy.
So Jesus’ promise is that when we abide in Him and His words abide in us and when we abide in His love then His joy WILL be in us and it WILL be full to overflowing. Now that is a promise worth claiming!
So happy 13th birthday and may your life be filled with joy and fueled by joy as you learn to abide!
And never forget that you are very loved!
Pop Pop