When it comes to talking about spiritual growth there is much we get right. Like grace — yes it is all of grace and we cannot grow apart from God’s gracious work in our lives through Jesus’ work on the cross. And faith — it takes trust in God and our union with Christ to bring growth in our lives. And obedience — yes the fruit of grace and faith is obedience which then increases our dependency on Christ and spurs us to more and more growth.
But lately I’ve been wondering if there is still a piece missing to our conversation on sanctification. Is our discipleship still missing something? Many of us would probably affirm all the truths I listed above and yet say that we still don’t feel like we are growing spiritually.
I believe that the crucial missing piece is joy.
Joy is a deep seated delight in God. It comes from acceptance. When we are accepted we feel joy. When we are rejected we feel sadness or even despair. Think about a time in your life that you were accepted by others, it probably still makes you happy to think about it.
Joy is the sign that the sanctification truths have moved from the head to the heart. “Yes, I know Jesus died on the cross, and yes I have joy because I am accepted in Christ.” “I glory in my acceptance. I am one with Christ!” “I know and am excited about my eternal destiny to be with Christ forever.” “I delight in Jesus, and pursue him wholeheartedly!”
But for many the truths of the gospel are still just academic. Head knowledge. Most likely because the situations of life are screaming that we are not accepted. They contradict the message of the cross — or so we think. If God has accepted me, why is this thing happening in my life?
There cannot be sustained growth, faith, or obedience without joy. It is the bridge between grace and obedience. You can teach the truths of grace and encourage the actions of obedience to those you disciple, but if they have not found joy in Christ and his acceptance, then the grace will be head knowledge, and the obedience will be hypocrisy. If they are letting the situations of life, circumstances, and trials be the proof that they are not eternally accepted, then the Enemy will have stolen their joy and their growth in Christ.
What will make a single Christian stay sexually pure? What will make the young man turn from pornography? What will make the young lady with same-sex attraction resist those temptations? What will free the senior saint from fear? What will allow the young parent of a sick child to pray again? What will make the ministry leader not burn out? What will make the married couple honor each other? What will keep our hearts from greed, selfishness, and pride?
The answer to all of these questions is joy. Not just grace. And not just obedience. There must be a delight in the grace that brings the true joy filled obedience from the heart.
We have got to, like Paul does in Philippians, make joy a part of the sanctification equation. We have to help each other find joy in the acceptance they have in Christ. We have to help each other to see that union with Christ can bring more joy than sex, money, power, comfort, Facebook, your phone, your kids, your job, your plans, and even your ministry. Do we believe that following Christ is not just good for us (like broccoli) but also exciting, delightful, and pleasurable? If we don’t show this next generation of Christians the joy in following Christ we will lose them. If you don’t find joy in your Savior your “growth” will not be spiritual but simply mechanical.
I pray that as a church we can make joy a part of our conversation, part of our discipleship, and part of our very lives.
