Rejoicing in Salvation
OBJECTIVE
To help the students understand that finding joy and happiness comes from living a life with Christ.
INTRODUCTION
There are many things in this world that we find enjoyable, and gives us temporary happiness. However, in everything and everyone that we think we love, there is a point at which that enjoyment reaches a limit or ceases. For example, we might have a new video game that we are consumed by, or a friend with whom we have gotten really close, there will be a time where we forget about that game, or perhaps where that friend lets us down.
However, in living righteous life and having all faith and love for Christ, we will never be let down, and Christ being eternal, we will never cease wanting to be with Him.
CONTENT & HOLY SCRIPTURE
What is a "Happy Life?"
A happy life comes from an absence of fear from losing something (i.e,. Material possessions). When we have several possessions, and we ask ourselves if we fear losing this thing, should we consider it true happiness? Certainly not, because true happiness should not come from something that we may have fear of losing.
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal" Matt 6:19
Since we know that happiness must not come from a tangible item, we must search for something eternal. Something that could not be lost, and will be there eternally, we see that God is not the source but is true happiness.
"Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life..." John 14:6
"He who holds God is happy. Turn your soul to the creator; for He is the source of our happiness and perfect righteousness. When you follow the Lord, you will desire happiness, and you will reach it; for He is happiness itself. Man, the rational creation, is a great and noble creature; yet when he falls, nothing can satisfy him but God. Who, or what, can grant him comfort? Be aware my beloved, that the joy of all joys can only come through rejoicing in the Holy Trinity, Who created us in His Image. -St. Augustine
Christ being eternal, we know not that we should worry about losing Him tomorrow, "Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself..." Matt 6:34, but only out of our own error, do we choose to not have Him. Although Christ being all-loving is there to have us, and in choosing Him, we rejoice in salvation.
"Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid" Isaiah 12:2
Joy in God
Many of the saints persevered through trials which included physical and mental anguish, tears, and even martyrdom, and did not lose their joy in God. As we are tired through struggles, we must glorify God in the focus of our struggles.
"Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Romans 5:3-4
What is it that we do when we are enduring hardships? Do we lose faith or does the Joy in God allow us to endure the struggles? When Paul the apostle of was imprisoned, did he lose his faith, or in the least, quit serving the people? He did not, but he wrote in his epistle to the Philippians:
"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice" Phil. 4:4
Happiness in the World but not of the World
To be happy does not mean to avoid the world, but to be careful when partaking from the world. As we enjoy things in life that are secular, we must assure ourselves that we are partaking in moderation and keep God in everything as we live in this world; we must have Him always in all that we do.
"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in Him, and I am helped: therefore, my heart greatly rejoices..." Psalm 28:7
When in the world, we are tempted to sin, and with our free will, we make choices that will cause us to fall or prevail in righteousness. However, in the struggle of fighting against sin, we must rejoice for that struggle. Without struggle we will never gain.
"Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you." Matt. 5:12
Looking into the lives of the prophets they all endured struggle. For example, in the story of Jacob, he had wrestled with God, causing his hip to break and he suffered great pain. However, he did not lose happiness, rather he rejoiced and asked for God's name to glorify. Jacob was then glad to have had the opportunity to struggle against God, that he was able to come closer with Him.
We must fight against sin, and in the struggle, we will have true happiness, as there will be fruit to bear, here and a reward in heaven. However, if we were to fall through the weakness of our humanity, be quick to get up, and embrace the Lord, who completes us.
Let us enter the struggle in such a way that anger does not rule over us or desire master us -- St. Antony the Great
Preserving a Happy Life
Every day that is given to us should be looked at in joy as we have received another day, we get to serve our Lord. "...Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." Psalm 30:5, just as David has mentioned the weeping from the crucifixion of Christ, but in the light of the Resurrection we may exalt in happiness, for Christ is shown to be our God.
Living an active life, we must understand ourselves, just as the great Abba Antony had said "if you know yourself you know God," we must identify the things that bring us joy. Just as St. Antony had cried unto God about his boredom, the angel had come down and showed him how to weave baskets which had brought joy to him. While weaving the baskets, he did the task unto God.
"And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men" Col. 3:23.
Like St. Antony, we should not remain stagnant, and understand what it is that brings us joy, and how we glorify God through that work. For someone that likes art, write an Icon. Someone who is into instruments and music, learns to play the cymbals and the hymns. Someone who likes to build with their hands, make a prayer rope to pray with. Use these ascetic exercises to glorify Christ and that we may receive temporary joy in this world.
Rejoicing and Others
Fellowship with fellow believers interacting in a godly manner is part of our lives. We can still enjoy going out to eat or doing activities so long as they are edifying and are an appropriate use of time.
Each individual is different, shaped by our experiences, to shape us to who we are. We all have a commonality of being in His image, and aspire to reach His likeness, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness..." Gen. 1:26 we ought to be a reflection of Christ, and emit joy to those around us.
If we were to follow the words of Paul "Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn." Rom. 12:15, there should be much motivation to rejoice as plenty of reasons to rejoice.
When Are We Happiest?
Asking ourselves the question of when were we the happiest in our lives? It might be a birthday or when we have gained a little brother or sister, or even when being able to come out of a terrible accident untouched. These are examples of happy moments, but try to think of the time you felt you were closest to God. There is an overload of joy that causes you to forget the worldly stressors we have.
St. Ambrose mentions he felt that he was the happiest person on the face of the earth when he was in communion with God, as he mentioned in one of his letters. Being made in the image of God, we will not be able to gain true happiness until we regain His image through the work of God.
APPLICATION (Action)
Thanksgiving
When we are thankful for what we have, we do not seek what we do not have or covet, shame ourselves, or fall into mental health issues over things we do not have. Life of remembering the good things that God has provided us helps us to be joyful
Giving to others
Use your life to give to others. When you have the innate emotion of feeling good when you give a present to someone or a meal to someone in need, it is natural and not a coincidence. As we have Christ within us you also are being a source of happiness when we do give.
Be steadfast
When we are tempted by the devil, we use Christ to overcome our weaknesses. For some people the Jesus prayer "My Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy upon my soul for I am a sinner", and allow Him to comfort you and change your direction from sin, and give thanks when you are able to withstand the devil's temptations
Avoid Idle talk
Be conscious when there is idle talk or anything negative that is spoked about. When we have a pure heart and pure consciousness, we are better able to see God, and our joy in Him is untouched. We are also better able to see Christ's image within others rather than speaking of the bad aspects of a person.
Time for Christ
If Christ is happiness and the source of happiness, we ought to make time for Him. Just as a person needs to sleep to be energized and ready for the next day, so it is the same as maintaining our happiness. We need to have guidance from our Father of Confession, on what we ought to do to come closer to Him and in what ways we enjoy spending time with Him.
Remember who you are
Whenever we are being tempted by the devil with our insecurities and our belittling, we might fall into a sad state, but in this moment, we need to remember that we are a chosen child of God. We need to remember that our Lord, God and Savior, Jesus Christ, has a plan for us, and we are members of His house. All the saints, angels, prophets and the hosts are our brethren and we are in communion with them. There is much more to us than we think, and when we forget we remember how blessed we are, and that nothing in this world should make us happier than our salvation.
CONCLUSION
It is important to differentiate between enjoying things and having a happy life. We can enjoy a football game, spending time with friends etc... but happiness is beyond that. It's feeling full and having internal joy outside of our circumstances.
We must identify that the only true source of joy is God Himself. Therefore, we can never truly be joyful without Him because He is the source of joy and we were made to be with Him. When we step outside of these elements, we may have some transient happiness but it fades and is not full. In the end we would have to face our empty self. However in God, we have joy and abide in Him.
DISCUSSION/ACTIVITY
- In what ways do we find the most joy when we are praising God?
- Remember a struggle in which we have endured, and at the end were thankful we were able to persevere.
- Find the times when they are given through someone or something, and give thanks for it. As well as a time of tribulation, we should thank Him for it, for a time to preserve and gain hope.