 Life can be full of sorrow and pain. To survive, many become hardened and callous, but God replaces the heart of stone in His children with a heart of flesh, making them more vulnerable (Ezekiel 36:26), yet no one could take away their joy. How does that work? Let’s learn from John 16:16-22.
The source of joy in God’s children is the Gospel, the good news that gives us great joy. (Luke 2:8-12). The Gospel depicts Christ breaking into a world of despair, initially devastated, but triumphing at the end. Through Him, we are accepted by God no matter what we have done and are given a clean conscience. This brings us great joy and boldness. This joy is permanent, as it rests in Christ and is independent of circumstances. This joy also comes from obeying Christ. Through our obedience, God’s Spirit can operate in us in the most powerful way (John 15:10, 11). As an analogy, to play music well requires years of difficult scale practice but gradually becomes more enjoyable. Don’t compromise with counterfeit joy by pursuing worldly things. Idols make us feel good initially but curse us later. For example, if career is our idol, as we move up, we feel good. But when we get stuck or go downhill, we feel pain because of the curse of the career idol. The joy in God’s children comes from hope. The opposite of joy is not sorrow, but hopelessness. Losses on Earth cause grief, but God’s children grieve with a hope for something much better (Romans 5:3-5, 1 Thessalonians 4:13). Look at Christ: He ran the painful race for the sake of the joy before Him (Hebrew 12:2). The cross comes before the crown. Such hope on eternal things enabled early Christians to sing praises while being mauled by lions. The privileges of being with God and enjoying Him outweigh any present temporary sorrow. On Earth, the joy in God’s children co-exists with sorrow (1 Peter 1:6). It is similar to a woman after giving birth, where she is both in joy and pain. Go to Christ. Pray to Him. Follow Him and hold onto that wonderful hope. Then nothing can take away your joy. Summarized from a Tim Keller sermon: https://gospelinlife.com/downloads/joy-8594/ 痛苦中的喜乐 生活可能充满悲伤和痛苦。许多人为了生存变得冷酷。但上帝将祂儿女冷漠的铁石之心变成敏感的肉心。虽然这使他们变得容易受伤（以西结书 36：26），却没有人能夺走他们内心的喜乐。这又怎么可能呢？让我们从约翰福音16：16-22 中学习。 天父儿女的喜乐源於福音 - 福音本是大好的消息，带给我们极大的喜乐（路加福音2：8-12）。 福音书描绘基督如何闯入这个绝望的世界。祂虽然遭受逼迫和苦害，甚至完全被世人蹂躏，却最终战胜了一切。 我们无论做了什么都在基督里蒙上帝的接纳。信徒因上帝的恩典可以问心无愧，带给他们极大的喜乐和勇气。这在基督里的喜乐永远不改变，不受环境的影响。 这喜乐也来自顺服基督。上帝的灵因为人的顺服可以大而有能地在信徒心里运作（约翰福音15：10,11）。作为一个类比，拥有纯熟乐器的技巧需要多年艰辛的练习，但久而久之演奏音乐也逐渐变得越来越有乐趣。 不要透过追求世俗的事物而妥协在虚假的快乐上。世上的偶像最初让人感觉良好，但最后却是诅咒一场。例如, 如果事业是人的偶像，事业上升时他感到痛快；但事业陷入困境或走下坡路时，他就感到失落和痛苦，因为这个职业偶像在诅咒他. 上帝儿女的喜乐还来自美好的盼望。喜乐的反面不是悲伤而是绝望。在世上失去亲人或财物会带来悲伤和痛苦。上帝的儿女虽然伤痛，但因为将来更美之事会持守美好的盼望。（罗马书5：3-5; 帖撒罗尼迦前书 4：13）。 基督为那摆在前面的喜乐饱受痛苦，十字架是通往得胜冠冕的必经之路（希伯来书12：2）。 因为早期基督徒的盼望在永恒之事物上，他们在被狮子伤害吞噬之时也能歌颂赞美神。 对于与上帝同在并享受祂之特权的期待让他们超越了暂时的悲伤。 上帝的儿女在地上悲喜共存, 如同分娩后既快乐又痛苦的母亲（彼得前书 1：6） 。 让我们来到基督面前，向祂祷告， 跟随祂，抓住那美好的盼望！如此, 没有任何人事可以夺走走我们的喜乐。
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