The Humanity of Jesus – Joy ~ blog

Which would you prefer…being joyful or being angry? When you are planning some free time or a vacation, if it is ever safe to travel again…would you go to Disneyland or the nearest state penitentiary?   Would you rather be hanging out right now with Joe Biden or Donald Trump?

Joy is a wonderful thing. To feel happy and laugh with friends and family. Real joy is deeper than just amusement. It is not having a simple laugh at a joke that surprises you. It can make you laugh out loud or feel deeply overwhelmed with the good things God has given you knowing that you are eternally one of His children.

There is much that takes away our joy. The stress and strain of life seem to empty us of our joy and 2020 has been a year of tremendous amounts of bad news and stress. As of today, 238,000+ people have died from Covid-19 with 10,100,000 million cases being confirmed. And you can add another 126,000 cases yesterday and 1,013 deaths.

This pandemic has rocked our world as well as our own personal lives, and economies. There are difficult days ahead and we all need to be praying for a vaccine to be discovered.

So, where do you turn for escape? According to one article, someone sent me the porn industry, as well as sales of drugs and alcohol, have prospered greatly. Here are some statistics;

“Compared with this time a year ago, during the week ending May 9, brick-and-mortar alcohol dollar sales were up 41%, while online sales of alcohol skyrocketed, up 339%. In fact, alcohol is the fastest-growing e-commerce department among consumer-packaged goods, and weekly growth during the pandemic has continued, notes New York-based Nielsen.” (https://www.winsightgrocerybusiness.com/center-store/impact-covid-19-retail-alcohol-sales)

Another widely used escape other than porn, drugs, and alcohol has been turning to entertainment by watching shows online or playing video games. Video game sales in May of 2020 went over $1 Billion dollars. Netflix usage rose 72% since Covid-19.

People are trying to escape the obvious and painful stress in their lives by filling the void they are feeling with temporary stopgap measures. A simple exiting from their reality to anything that will release dopamine in their brain to deaden the pain is taken.  Many of these escapes have a dangerous side effect. They are addictive and some are highly addictive…like porn, alcohol, and drugs.

When we look at the humanity of Jesus, we find Him being both joyful and angry. His anger was mostly aimed at the Pharisees and Sadducees…the professional hypocrites of the day.

They made the people suffer for falling short of the Law while giving the pretense of being sinless and blameless themselves.

However, there were times when we see Jesus experiencing joy. Jesus was almost always having a crowd surround Him. Often, He would heal the sick, teach them as nobody had ever done, and occasionally some fish and chips. Imagine the joy of those whom He healed.

There were times when we are told He healed them all. In Matthew 12:15 we read;

“Many followed Him, and He healed them all…”

We don’t read anywhere that Jesus smiled and laughed. However, the erasing of suffering from the lives of people who had no Medicare or health insurance, with no hope of ever being healed, and yet in a moment, with a touch, or a spoken word the damage of illness and disease disappeared. I imagine there were many times when people were walking, and shouting, and praising God. How do you think Jesus felt in those times? Can’t you see Him smiling and their joy igniting His joy?

And then there were the times when Jesus is in the presence of children. Once in Luke 18:15-17, we read;

“And they were bringing even their babies to Him so that He would touch them, but when the disciples saw it, they began rebuking them. But Jesus called for them, saying, “Permit the children to come to Me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”

Jesus loved the children. He spoke of us having faith like children have faith. They did not come to Him demanding something from Him. They were there probably with the adults coming to see or hear Jesus. They were the insignificant ones His disciples thought. But to Him, they were the stars of the crowd. Not yet turned to selfishness and rebellion in their hearts.

They had faith and many just wanted to play. I imagine Jesus loved that about them and perhaps even laughed as they were ignoring the struggles of their world and just finding ways to play. I imagine hearing their giggling and seeing their innocence was music to His heart while for most it was the darkest of times living under Roman rule and the legalistic pressure of the Pharisees.

Do you know what I miss more than anything as a result of Covid-19? Not being able to play with my grandkids. Picking them up on Sunday afternoon for a run to Dairy Queen and then the joy of eating delicious ice cream treats with them.

There are things in this life that bring us joy and a sense of fulfillment that we cannot find in using the escape of porn, drugs, alcohol, and entertainment binging on entertainment. They are all the fruits of isolation and never satisfy. However, there is joy in the community and even greater joy playing with children. Perhaps there is something you can find to do helping or playing with some children either in your family or perhaps even with those less fortunate and needing love.

A good exercise is to sit down and make a list of 5 things you could do that would bring you joy. Perhaps it is looking at family photos and creating a digital photo memory book for someone in your family. Some of you are creative and gifted in writing stories, creating music, or making something. Perhaps a trip to Hobby Lobby might spark an idea of something creative you could do to make a gift to give to someone you know who is hurting right now.

“Rejoice in the Lord Always…again I say rejoice!”

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