JOY

 

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."

During the Christmas season one of our favourite songs to sing in SK is "Joy to the World". We all know the words well, "Joy to the World the Lord has come…" But what exactly is the joy of Christmas all about? Many people confuse joy and happiness. Happiness is based on your circumstances, but joy is a deeper emotion that lasts through good and bad times.

Sometimes joy can feel like an explosion of hope and excitement and at other times it is a strong sense of peace and a feeling that all is as it should be. During advent, we remember with joy the gift of Jesus, we enjoy His blessings now and we delight in the promise of His coming again.

Galatians 5:22-25 tells us that joy is one of the fruits of the Spirit. This means that God is the source of joy, but the Holy Spirit helps us to see it, practice it and give it away. The Spirit draws our attention to beautiful things and helps us remember God's faithfulness in the stories of the Bible and in our lives.

In our Social Justice Leadership Team, we have had discussions on how we as Christians at WCS can promote joy and peace. We decided that we must always be praying for opportunities to "have our eyes opened" to those in need in our families, school, greater community and beyond.

The Spirit also helps us see people who are in need of God's joy, so that we can share it with them. When we are filled with joy, we know how to give it away. Christmas is a perfect time to remind others of good times and stories of God's faithfulness. We can show them examples of God's goodness and beauty all around us. We can share God's promises from the Bible and we can also bring joy to others doing simple acts of kindness and service. What a JOY to share God's good gifts! We pray that all of the WCS community will experience this joy this Christmas and into 2018!

(pieces taken from http://kidscorner.reframemedia.com/media/pdf/KC-Advent-Calendar-2017-1_%284%29.pdf)

 

Linda Westerveld and Jesse Duizer ( Social Justice LT)