HUGE PASSION FOR JOY
1John 2:15 ¶ Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Inside of every human is an incredibly large desire and capacity for happiness. We crave it subconsciously from our earliest moments of awareness. The infant looks for his happiness in his mother’s breast but soon graduates to adult’s food followed by a strange attraction to toys. It grows from toys to sports, from sports to various video games and other adolescent pursuits of joy. Ultimately it graduates into the pursuit of pleasure in a mate and in a career. There are many side journeys along that road; alcohol, drugs, and deviant sexual behavior to name a few, but the passion for joy is consistent and relentless. We were made for joy. The problem is our fallen state has polluted us and distracted us from the source of the only joy that can satisfy creatures created in the image of God. Only God Himself can fill the enormous passion inside of us, nothing less will do. C. S. Lewis discovered this happy pursuit, check out his thoughts.
“These things—the beauty, the memory of our own past—are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited. Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as for inducing them. And you and I have need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness which has been laid “upon us for nearly a hundred years. Almost our whole education has been directed to silencing this shy, persistent, inner voice; almost all our modern philosophies have been devised to convince us that the good of man is to be found on this earth. And yet it is a remarkable thing that such philosophies of Progress or Creative Evolution themselves bear reluctant witness to the truth that our real goal is elsewhere. When they want to convince you that earth is your home, notice how they set about it. They begin by trying to persuade you that earth can be made into heaven…”
In this life we catch glimpses of His beauty, snatches of His aroma, in His creation itself. Creation is a reflection of His greatness but not the greatness itself. Fallen man tries to find satisfaction to this gnawing passion for joy in creation itself but that can never happen. We were created with a God sized hunger, a very specific hunger for joy. Creation can never meet this need, nothing less than God Himself will do.
5 thoughts on “HUGE PASSION FOR JOY”
Amen! God himself! ! Draw us father with more of you! Less of us and more of you! You have turned our tears of sadness into such joy and gladness!!!ours hearts can’t keep it in we shouting, shouting! ! You and you alone! Remove the pride! More of you jesus! We love jesus!! More of you jesus! !!
Good Morning, Pastor, nothing here in this world I want, nothing in this world satisfies me anymore, The LORD and I just have a good ol time all day long, loving on people, walking in Love, having fun going to walmart together, every where ok go He goes, Hallelujah, I love You LORD. Hallelujah to that Scripture. Our God is A jealous God. He wants all of us. Not just some or sometimes. Can’t serve two master’s, the heart is not big enough for two. Wow, awesome Blog. Jesus transforms us into the likeness of Him. Thank You, Holy Spirit. There will be no more excuses to do this or do that in the world, you will not want to, if you really Love Him. My life is all His, I crave for Him daily, hourly, secondly, minutely and Him only. That’s who I truthfully am now. This world means nothing to me anymore, ha. Take this world, I have found my KING.
TAKE THIS WORLD AND GIVE ME JESUS. This world has nothing and I mean nothing to offer, compared to the King, my Rock.
Boasting in You and All You LORD, not me, He did it all and still is doing. 🙂
Wow, Pastor, you have a blessed day and enjoy this beautiful day the LORD has given us. Your in my Prayers, love You all..:)
I love The King, thank You Holy Spirit. By the way, you just add fire to me when I’m finish reading your blogs and go right into the Book Of Life, my BIBLE. I have to go walk in the yard a little while to just shout Hallelujah. Love you Pastor…
Yes, God Himself , nothing else will do !!! Righteousness , peace , and joy, in the Holy Spirit , thy kingdom come !!!
So many ministers are not god centered. There our lords side kick or co pilot. It’s seems to me they do not know how to let him in. Instead they try to work with him. I thank you for letting him in you and for you resting in him to get work done. I hope you know how important you are to the city of New Orleans. You right you are either hated or loved. Flesh or spirit. Today I spiritually over loaded so I love ya. Lol.
Hallelujah