filled with His joy

Today we read from John 17:1-26 in the One Year Bible. Most of the passage is Jesus praying, and we can learn alot by listening to Him pray. But one thing that jumps out at us is the purpose of our work here. He says to the Father in His prayer that He told us many things so that we would be "filled with His joy."

If you ever get the idea that God doesn't care if you're happy, or that being a Christian isn't about having a joyful, abundant life, remember these verses. Jesus told us these things SO THAT we would share His joy. And in John 10:10 we were told that He came so that we would have abundant life. God wants you to have a healthy, happy, fulfilled life. And the way we do that is to do what He taught us. He didn't teach us a bunch of arbitrary rules to be a buzzkill. He taught us the way to have the best life possible. To share the joy that He already has.

So let's do what He said.

God, thanks for teaching us how to be full of Your joy.