Compete Joy; Philippians

May the mumbling commence!

Through the Lord, we can have unwavering joy.  But, wait… there’s more.  The Apostle Paul also writes about complete joy through the Lord in his letter to the Philippian church.  What is the way to complete joy?  Read from Philippians chapter two (TNIV):

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.  Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Verses 1-4)

The first component to complete joy is being united with Christ.  In this union, we find comfort and fellowship.  We find tenderness and compassion.

Comfort and fellowship and tenderness and compassion… they can lead to great joy.  It is truly a joy to receive these things.  But to only receive makes joy quite shallow.  There is a deeper call that will bring us to complete joy.

That deeper call is to reflect and give of comfort to others… to offer fellowship to those people who are lonely or vulnerable… to offer tenderness and compassion where they are most needed.

It takes a family to do these things… a family that agrees to have the same attitude and thought process and language and actions.  And that family is none other than the family of God.

The question: “What’s in it for me?” becomes “How can I glorify God in this situation?”  When we think in union with one another, no person is the central focus… excepting Christ Jesus.

This passage reminds me of an old children’s song.  And children’s songs can teach much to children and to adults… if we pay attention to the spirit behind the words.  The song that I am thinking about is called, “Joy”.  In the song, JOY is an acronym.

Jesus first…

Yourself last…

And Others in between.

And that, of course, is how we spell joy.

What kind of joy do we receive from the Lord?  We receive unwavering and complete joy… that we in turn share with other people from our very core to our every action.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out