A minister friend of mine called a little while ago to share some great news from her congregation. Nancy was excited because, quite unexpectedly, her small church had been able to purchase at auction the storefront building they had been renting for a meeting space over the last several years. I could hear the joy in her voice and in her heart as she spoke of answered prayer. Joy, of course, is contagious, and I caught a little of it from her today!
It reminded me of the chorus I learned as a child in Sunday school: "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart... down in my heart to stay!" One of the most intriguing things about the New Testament epistles is how frequently the notion of joy comes up. In the earliest years of the Christian movement there was surely a lot of heartache, hardship and sorrow. But over and over the apostles express joy in their experience with Christ. Today, that joy in the Lord is still available to us.
Tony Pappas has said, "If we don't offer people joy, they won't much care what else we say we have." [Entering the World of the Small Church, Alban Institute] It was evident to me this morning that Nancy's congregation offers people joy, and not simply because of this acquisition of facilities, but because of their relationship with Christ.
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