Joy
“Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth! Serve the LORD with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!” Psalm 100:1-2
Merriam-Webster defines “joy” “as an emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires.” I think “joy” is an emotion of delight you feel and everyone can see it in your expressions and words.
I heard a mother tell her young son to “be a joy!” as she was getting him settled into my Sunday School class a few years ago. I had never heard this expression before, but I loved it—especially when I thought about what it meant. After hearing this expression, I was convicted by the worn out instructions that I continually shout out to my children. “Behave”, “pay attention!”, “obey your teacher”, etc. “Be a joy” sounds so much richer.
That really is what life is all about. The first question in the Westminster Shorter Catechism is: “What is man’s chief end?” This means what is our purpose on this earth every hour of every day. The answer is: “to glorify God and ‘enjoy’ Him forever.”
God has given us innumerable reasons to “be a joy” for His glory and the good of others. Every gift and blessing that we enjoy is from God. He has given us the greatest gift the world will ever know. John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” What more reason could we need to “be a joy”?