Joy Of Living In Jesus

𝐌𝐀𝐘 𝟕, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔: 𝐅𝐈𝐅𝐓𝐇 𝐖𝐄𝐄𝐊 𝐎𝐅 𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑

𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟏: 𝐀𝐜 𝟏𝟓:𝟕-𝟐𝟏

𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐬𝐚𝐥𝐦: 𝐏𝐬𝐚 𝟗𝟔:𝟏-𝟑, 𝟏𝟎 “𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦 𝐆𝐨𝐝’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐝𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.”

𝐆𝐎𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐋: 𝐉𝐍 𝟏𝟓:𝟗-𝟏𝟏

𝐊𝐞𝐲 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐞: “𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐦𝐚𝐲 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐞.” (𝐯.𝟏𝟏) 

            In my old life, I always equated happiness with what was readily available in the material world I lived in or what can be bought with cash. For those with lots of dough in their pockets and fat bank accounts, those wallowing in pure luxury subscribe to the common colloquial expression “nothing money can’t buy.”

            I grew up in a poor household surrounded by wealthy families and there was a time I believed in that saying. In my growing up years I literally chased after that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow because I held the belief that money is the be-all and the end-all of life.

            Frustration began to set in when I realized that money can’t buy the intrinsic human values like genuine love, true friendship, inner peace, time and good health. How true indeed that money can buy a bed but not sleep. It can buy a book, but not wisdom. Money can also buy you a house but not a home.

            And I personally experienced God’s love for me when he found me wallowing in misery and frustration some 37 years ago. He found me at the right moment before I destroyed the Temple of the Holy Spirit on account of my pride, arrogance and uncaring way of life.

It was then that God impressed upon me that the happiness I was running after was not the true joy that brings “𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠” (𝐏𝐡𝐢 𝟒:𝟕).

Just so we will be able to grasp what Jesus was really trying to make his disciples understand in this short Gospel passage today, it would be best to draw an imagery of what Jesus was saying.

            When reading this passage, it would lead us to assume that Jesus may be equating obedience with love, but this is not necessarily so because these two emotional expressions are not entirely the same.

            This may in fact fall under the principle of cause-and-effect where love is the cause and the effect of that would be obedience. Simply put, love is what brings a person to obey such that it was out of love that Jesus obeyed the Father’s Will that He offers His life on the cross that we may all be redeemed.

            It is also very clear in today’s Gospel that the true joy that comes from heaven can only work wonders in us if we will abide in His love by keeping His commandments. Where joy is the effect, obedience to everything that Jesus tells us is the cause which means that this kind of joy that Jesus says we can have is largely dependent on our subservience to his commandments.

            As we also cannot outdo God in love and generosity, the only response that we can give is to abide in His love in the best possible way and that is to also share this love we have received with others.

As St. Paul says that it is out of God’s immeasurable love that was poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit that we are moved into responding in abounding joy and hope (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟓:𝟓).

            What this Gospel passage is saying is for us to strive in building and developing a closer relationship or intimacy with God through Jesus for it is only in having such kind of a relationship that we can enjoy the fullness of God’s love that produces the kind of joy that He has promised us.

            This true joy is what removes the state of depression that we may sink into when things are not going well in our lives because true joy transcends the waves of pitiable uncertainties and difficulties we may be experiencing in life.

            Such joy comes from a constant, consistent, continuing and enduring relationship with Jesus Christ. This kind of relationship is one that is founded on our strict adherence to everything that He has taught us which when translated into action means denying ourselves (𝐋𝐤 𝟗:𝟐𝟑) and clothing ourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ (𝐑𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟑:𝟏𝟒). 

            The key word in this passage is abide and there is one meaning of abide that I would want to use in reference to this Gospel passage and that is – reside.

The Roget’s Thesaurus defines “abide” in so many ways: endure, wait, continue, reside, be quiescent, await, tolerate. Of these, I would like to use “reside” which means “inhabit, indwell, occupy, live, stay, lodge.”

            Thus, to abide in Jesus Christ is to reside which means to dwell in Him. As such, it is understood that when we dwell in Him and Him in us, we are placing ourselves at the disposal of Jesus Christ.

It is also understood that this habitation that is consummated out of love is what will move us to obey his commandments which eventually will allow us to experience and enjoy the fullness of the joy that will be in us.

            The secret of Jesus was his contact with God. We see Jesus going into a solitary place to commune with God and it is out of this unity with the Father that Jesus can confidently say: “𝐀𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞, 𝐬𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐈 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮; 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐦𝐲 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞, 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐬 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐤𝐞𝐩𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐅𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫'𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞.” (𝐯𝐯.𝟗-𝟏𝟎)        

This is the message behind this Gospel today because this same unity that Jesus had with the Father is the same kind of indwelling unity that He wants us to have with Him.

In this our journey of faith, keeping close to Jesus is necessary so that we will not lose our way but for us to reside in Him and Him in us we must deliberately take steps to do it.

            This means that we will need to act on our faith by putting in regular prayer times and communing with Jesus in silent meditation until such time that we reach that point when abiding in Christ becomes a mystical experience that we cannot express in words.

            And out of this mystical experience will come the true joy that Jesus Christ says will be in us. As free will won’t give us the freedom to commit wrong but to do what is right, Christians must find joy in doing the right thing.

As Christians, we are a people of joyful disposition because a gloomy Christian will be a contradiction to what Jesus has achieved with His death and resurrection.

            While we may have been sinners, the greater truth is that we are a redeemed sinner and this reality is what brings joy – the kind of joy that will move us to prove our love for Jesus Christ and for one another by embracing the way of the cross.

            This cross turns to joy when our human will cross with God’s Will for us and it is only then that we will experience true joy marked by a life that is surrendered to Jesus Christ and consumed by His love.

Perhaps we should also ask ourselves what it is that brings joy to our life. True joy is also doing what you love to do. In my case, I love to preach because that is the gift that God has given me but it really isn’t easy.

Besides the long hours that I need to put in to study and reflect on the Word of God, it also entails preparing the materials especially the visuals. The beauty of it all is that I don’t feel tired as there seems to be a strong driving force that’s propping me up to plod on and I attribute this to the joy that comes in doing this.

            My only regret was the precious time I wasted in my younger years when I took for granted the call of Our Lord to serve him. In looking back, I’ve been given many opportunities to serve God but there was a wide chasm between the world I was in at that time and the heavenly realm.

            I gave a reflection once and I briefly touched on men who turned back to God when they realize that the joy they had in the world was not complete. And we should be glad that we have a God who is omniscient, patient and understanding who untiringly waits until we find our way back to him.

            Today, I am at peace because this true joy is in me and I delight in serving our Lord Jesus Christ wherever I am sent. Knowing that I am serving God who created me and who is the source of everything that I have and possess is what gives me joy. (𝘌𝘥 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘺 - 𝘔𝘢𝘺 7, 2026)