10 key words in 2 John #7: joy

Introduction:

These three short letters – 1,2 and 3 John – are traditionally thought to be written by the author of the Gospel of John, known as John the Evangelist. 1 John is written to a group of early believers, some of whom were losing sight of the truth to be found in Jesus Christ. This letter – 2 John – is written to an individual – and this individual is a woman!

This month’s approach is to pick out 10 key words from the letter and unpack those words to see what message they contain for us today. So I suggest that each day, you read the whole letter, then read my thoughts on a particular key word and then take that word with you to reflect on throughout the day.

The whole of 2 John:

1 The elder,

To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever:

3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father’s Son, will be with us in truth and love.

4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love.

7 I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. 8 Watch out that you do not lose what we have worked for, but that you may be rewarded fully. 9 Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. 10 If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not take them into your house or welcome them. 11 Anyone who welcomes them shares in their wicked work.

12 I have much to write to you, but I do not want to use paper and ink. Instead, I hope to visit you and talk with you face to face, so that our joy may be complete.

13 The children of your sister, who is chosen by God, send their greetings.

The 10 key words: joy

• lady
• chosen
• children
• love
• truth
• Jesus
• joy
• command
• deceiver
• teaching

Today’s word: joy

joy: noun: a feeling of great pleasure and happiness
‘tears of joy’

synonyms: delight, great pleasure, joyfulness, jubilation, triumph, exultation, rejoicing, happiness, gladness, glee, exhilaration, ebullience, exuberance, elation, euphoria, bliss, ecstasy, transports of delight, rapture, radiance; enjoyment, gratification, felicity; cloud nine, seventh heaven; joie de vivre

– pleasure, source of pleasure, delight, treat, thrill, buzz, kick
‘it was a joy to be with her’

It is with great pleasure that I focus on joy today.

No, seriously, it is. I’ve been thinking a lot about joy recently and I have come to believe that joy is my reason for living. Let’s first see what this passage has to say about joy and then I’ll tell you more.

John’s joy is specific. It has a cause. It makes him happy to hear of the believers who are following Jesus as the way, the truth and the life. Hearing the stories of how these individuals are following Jesus in every aspect of their lives gives him great pleasure. John is a people person and yearns for all to discover what it is to put Jesus at the centre of their lives. He worries about those who have lost sight of this truth and tries in his letters to show them the error of their ways and bring them back onto the right path. He cares deeply about the faith journey of each one of them. His joy will be made complete when he gets to meet with them and talk with them face to face.

We can learn much from his example. Our hearts should also be warmed by the stories of other people of faith and concerned for those who wander off the path. We are all in this together and are here to support and encourage and draw encouragement from one another.

So…my take on joy.

Life is tough at the moment, really tough. I am under an immense amount of stress and anxiety and this is starting to have an adverse effect on my physical health.

I’ve found myself over this summer asking myself many existential questions. I’ve always been fascinated by the futility of life, but the questioning has become more intense and far-ranging recently – and I wonder how much this has to do with how difficult it is simply to get through each day.

When I went to Edinburgh to hear Rob Bell’s ‘Introduction to Joy’, God spoke straight into my heart. I am here for joy, that’s what I heard Him say. Not the superficial search for happiness that leads to a pursuit of possessions and pleasure that does not last. Joy goes much, much deeper than that. Joy exists right in the middle of the tough stuff. You can only know it’s real joy if you’ve been through tough stuff and can still find it.

Joy is joining God in finding pleasure in His creation. Like God, we can look and see that it is good. Joy is a satisfaction that runs deep, belly laughs with friends, wonder in the moment, a childlike abandon…I’m exploring joy in a new way right now. Allowing myself to find moments of joy in the toughest of days. Committing to finding them in the darkest of places. My heart can still be breaking at what is going on around me, but if my eyes are open and looking for it, I will find joy as a shaft of light somewhere in the darkness.

If this is stirring something within you, then I suggest you do some more digging for yourself. Start with the Book of Ecclesiastes and find your permission to enjoy life in the midst of meaninglessness right there. Then look up and feel the sun on your face. Witness the smile of a stranger. Smell that first coffee of the day.

Whatever brings you joy, experience it and give thanks for it.

This is the day that the Lord has made. We will rejoice and be glad in it.