The Wellsprings of Joy
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
John Pierpont died a failure,or so some say. In 1866, ar the age of 81, he came to the end of his days as a government clerk in Washington, D.C., with a long string of personal defeats.
Things began well enough. He graduated from Yale, which his grandfather had helped found and chose education as his profession with some enthusiasm.
He was a failure at teaching because he was too easy on his students. And so he turned to the legal world for training.
He was a failure as a lawyer. He was too generous to his clients and too concerned about justice to take the cases that brought good fees.
The next career he took up was that of a dry-goods merchant. He was a failure as a businessman because he did not charge enough for his goods to make a profit, and was too liberal with credit. In the meantime he had been writing poetry, and though it was published he didn’t collect enough royalties to make a living.
And so he decided to become a minister. He went off to Harvard Divinity School, was ordained in a church in Boston. But his position for prohibition against slavery got him crosswinds with the influential members of his congregation and he was forced to resign. He failed as a minister.
Politics seemed a place where he could make some difference, and he was nominated as the Abolition Party candidate for governor of Massachusetts. He lost. Undaunted, Pierpont ran for Congress under the banner of the Free Soil Party. He lost.
The Civil War came along and he volunteered as a chaplain for the 22nd Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteers. Two weeks later he quit, having found the task too much of a strain on his health. He was 76 years old. He failed as a chaplain.
Someone found him an obscure job in the back offices of the Treasury Department in Washington, and he finished the last five years of his life as a menial file clerk. He wasn’t very good at that either. His heart was not in it.
John Pierpont died a failure, or so some say. He had accomplished nothing significant in his lifetime--nothing that he set out to do. There is a small memorial stone marking his grave in Mt. Auburn Cemetery in Cambridge, Mass. The words in the granite read: "POET, PREACHER, PHILOSOPHER, PHILANTHROPIST."
From this distance in time, one might insist that he was not, in fact, a failure. His commitment to social justice, his desire to be a loving human being, his active engagement in the great issues of his times, and his faith in the power of the human mind--these are not failures. And much of what he thought of as defeat, became success. Education was reformed, legal processes were improved, credit laws were changed, and above all, slavery was abolished once and for all.
This is not an uncommon story. Many 19th century reformers had similar lives, similar failures and successes. In one very important sense, John Pierpont was not a failure. Every year, come December, we celebrate his success. We carry in our hearts and minds a lifelong memorial to him.
It’s a song. Not a song about Jesus or angels or even Santa Claus or Frosty. It’s a terribly simple song about the simple joy of whizzing through the cold white dark of wintertime. It’s a song about a sleigh pulled by one horse. It’s a song about laughter and singing. No more. No less. John Pierpont wrote "Jingle Bells."
To write a song that stands for the simplest joys, to write a song that millions of people around the world know--song about something they’ve never done but can imagine.well, that’s not failure.
One snowy afternoon in the deep of a Massachusetts winter, John Pierpont penned the lines as a small gift for his family and friends and congregation. And in so doing, left behind a permanent gift¡Xthe gift of joy.
Wouldn’t you like to leave a legacy of joy to the world or at least to your family and friends? I know I would. You see...
ľ Joy oils the machinery of life
ľ It greases the axles of the world
ľ It is medicine to the wounded soul
ľ It dries up tears
ľ It has an attracting quality about it
ľ It is contagious
ľ It is love smiling
Nehemiah 8:10: "The joy of the Lord is your strength"¨
Isaiah 12:3: "With joy shall you draw water out of the wells of salvation."
John 15:11: "These things have I spoken to you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."
Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!"
Paul has much to tell us about joy, in spite of the fact that he suffered greatly for his faith. The letter to the Philippians is absolutely overflowing with joy. Joy is the key word throughout. Chapter after chapter is filled with the things that brought delight to his soul.
In chapter 1:15-18, he rejoices that the gospel is being preached, even if it is being declared by those whose motives are wrong.
In 2:17,18, he faces possible execution but says that if by his death others faith was deepened, he would be full of joy.
In 4:1, the Philippian believers are one source of his joy. When he thinks of them, his heart is warmed; when he writes to them, his spirit is refreshed.
WHAT EXACTLY IS CHRISTIAN JOY?
In order for us to define what it is, we must explain what it is not.
1. It is not synonymous with fun and games. Pleasure seekers do not find joy. Joy is something different, something deeper. What they do find is something that makes feel good for a limnited time.
2. It is not the ability to always tell funny stories or be the life of the party. Some are like that. Some are not. It’s often a matter of temperament. Laughter has its benefits, to be sure, but it might not suffice during a crisis.
3. Neither is joy the same as being carefree. Some believe that vacations are recipes for joy. But these are often merely temporary. They see joy only in escapists terms. True joy can be the Christian’s portion any time, in any place, under any strain. It was so for Jesus. It was so for Paul. It can be so for you.
4. Joy is not the same as happiness. Happenings lead to happiness. Joy is birthed as a result of a loving relationship. Sad is that person who bases his joy strictly on beneficial circumstances. The events of life are like waves on the sea. They come and they go, depending on the direction and force of the wind.
If you were to ask a psychologist what joy is all about, he would say something like this: ¡§Joy is a state of mind into which four ingredients enter.
The first ingredient is a sense of being loved. The second, the ability to accept your situation in life. The third ingredient is a sense that you have something worth having, e.g., a spouse, children, a friend, a hobby, a career. The fourth ingredient is the sense that you are giving something worth giving. Giving is a great source of joy. Giving oneself to others is tremendously rewarding. Mothers know this. They give themselves endlessly to make their children happy. Joy is like jam. It sticks to you as you try to spread it.
If you look at this four-fold formula for joy through a Christian¡¦s eyes, you can see how completely it is fulfilled in a relationship with Jesus. For example, doesn’t the believer know that he/she is loved. "He loved me and gave himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends"(John 15:13). The love of God led Him to adopt us into His very own family as we responded to His invitation.
And then there is the issue of accepting our situation in life. This is something the Christian can do, because he knows what other folks do not know--that all of his circumstances are planned out for him by his loving heavenly Father and that they will eventually work out for his good (Romans 8:28). This makes contentment possible, in any situation. Remember, Paul was in prison when he said, "I have learned in whatever state I am in, therewith to be content."
A pastor was visiting a mission field. Lepers came for a service. They requested a certain hymn. It was not, "I Must Tell Jesus All of My Troubles." No, it was, "Singing I Go Along Life’s Road, For Jesus Has Lifted My Load."
Our psychologists say that joy comes from having something worth having. Now look at what Paul wrote in Philippians 3:8: "I count all things to be loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I suffered the loss of all things and count them but garbage, that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him."
Paul has Someone worth having and He brings him such joy that even the things he lost to gain Him, seem worthless.
When a man courts a girl, what does he want? He simply wants a love relationship with her; it is to that end that he proposes marriage. The marriage relationship isn’t a means to an end, but is itself the source of joy which makes it worthwhile!
The Christian says, with Paul, "I have Jesus. I have the glorious reality of knowing Him and that is enough for me. That is the pearl of great price. I will let anything go in order to hold on to it."
The fourth and last ingredient necessary for joy according to psychologists, is giving something worth giving. And what is it that we possess, as children of God, that is worth giving away? Is it not our faith? As we share our knowledge of Christ with others, a certain exultation sweeps over us. We’ve given the greatest gift possible, something supremely worth giving.
These, then, are the wellsprings of joy...being loved, accepting the Lord’s will for our lives, having something worth having, and giving away something worth giving. Think of them, my fellow Christian, and rejoice! And like John Pierpont, you too will be able to leave a legacy of joy behind.
