SimplyLife

Next week begins the Lenten season. The Church has long remembered the 40 days before the Son of God's supreme sacrifice for us by observing some form of self-denial during this period. Many give up meat or desserts. Some give up TV shows, social media, maybe Farmville, or attend special church services. None of this is bad or wrong. But in the end we have every intention of picking up where we left off. We won't give up sweets forever and how would that really change our lives spiritually? I've participated in giving up something for Lent on occasion. My church tradition doesn't really make a great deal of Lent. There is a certain satisfaction in knowing I have the self-discipline to get through 40 days without touching a cookie or a piece of candy. The act doesn't change me. That first bite of dessert after its absence is heavenly. In fact, I can hardly wait. The question I have to ask myself is how has that made me more like Christ? Plainly it hasn't. So ...

If joy is a fruit of the Spirit, why are Christians looking so sour? Have you looked around church lately during a worship service? How many of them look joyful?  How many look tired, bored, or maybe irritated?  How about you?  A guest speaker came to our church in Castile, NY many years ago. He made a statement I'll never forget.  He said, "Even if I hadn't met your pastor, I'd know who he is. He's the one with the glory face."   He was right. Our pastor was a joyful man of God whose face reflected that fruit of the Spirit. No, he wasn't giddy or a laugh a minute. His joy was the real deal kind. It's more than happiness. It's more than a smile. It's all rather illusive and hard to define sometimes. Emotions can be tricky business, and we sometimes tend to discount them. True joy is much more than emotion, but emotion is part of it. There's nothing wrong with joy actually showing up on your face, in your step, or your actions. The ...