Don't Got Joy? Embrace Jesus Christ!

Jonathan Edwards was arguably the greatest theologian ever born in America. In one of his earlier sermons, he spoke these words: "It would be worth the while to be religious, if it were only for the pleasantness of it."  Of course, Edward's use of the word "religious" did not carry the baggage in his day that it often does in ours. But his point is well made. If we are truly living out our Christian faith as God intends us to do . . . we will experience his presence in our lives in a powerful way. And when we are living "in his presence" we will experience the fullness of joy (see Psalm 16:11).

Stephen Nicholls in his book, Heaven on Earth: Capturing Jonathan Edward's Vision of Living in Between, elaborates on what Edwards (and the Scripture) is teaching us:

"When we come to Christ, he gives us man wonderful things. What's more, he enables us to enjoy all of them, both spiritual and physical things. But the greatest gift God gives us is himself. He longs for us to enjoy him. This is not a gift for the future only - it's a gift we should enjoy now." 

Now this almost sounds a bit like the totally unbiblical "prosperity gospel" that is being preached today (which basically says that God has a plan for your life and that plan includes material prosperity). But Nicholls makes it clear that this is in NO WAY what Edwards was teaching. Nicholls writes,

"And lest we think Edwards is an early version of a prosperity-peddling televangelist, we must bear in mind that for him, the greatest pleasure is found in the glory and excellency of Christ. Edwards recalls the testimony of Paul from 2 Corinthians 6:10: “As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.”

SOOO ... do you have joy? Have you found this pleasure that Edwards preached about? If not, then I invite you to visit the Two ways to live: the choice we all face web site. There is a better way to live!

Thanks for stopping by . . .
pj