Losung für den 3. Juli
Menschenfurcht bringt zu Fall; wer sich aber auf den HERRN verlässt, wird beschützt.Werft euer Vertrauen nicht weg, welches eine große Belohnung hat.
"Rejoice in the Lord!"
– Philippians 3:1
How can anyone be ordered to rejoice, to be joyful? And then Paul even repeats this command twice in the very next chapter. Isn't it a fact that we are either joyful or not? It may even happen with some presents that we receive: we appreciate the gesture, but for some reason the present itself is rather an embarrassment.
Normally our joy is caused by meeting a person sympathetic to us, or by receiving something that we have long desired, either openly or secretly. Then we become joyful as these words are obviously closely linked.
Sometimes our joy is caused by everyday things like a beautiful flower, a colourful sunrise or sunset, the chirping of birds, a hot cup of coffee on a cold day. Nobody can order us to be joyful in these circumstances.
However, here another kind of joy is meant: “Rejoice in the Lord!” Not only do we take delight in God. That is still relatively easy. We take delight in Christmas when God came to his people. We take delight in his reconciliation, on account of which our sins no longer separate us from God. We delight in Christ's resurrection, through which we may believe in eternal life. We delight in the gift of the Holy Spirit, which assures us that we will never be left alone and are not solely responsible for our faith.
We are required to rejoice in the Lord. That requires a close and loving relationship with God. Thus the prevailing tone of our lives becomes one of joy, and this joy is no longer dependent on outward circumstances. Secure in the love of God we can rejoice in the Lord even when everything seems to demand sadness as an appropriate emotion: in times of severe illness, when we have lost a dear one or others have deeply disappointed us. That is why Paul says in the next chapter: “Rejoice in the Lord always!”
This watchword for the month therefore does not demand a forced joyfulness or a continuous smile. It rather presupposes that we have a close relationship with God and are aware that he carries us and we are bouns to him. Prayer, in which we talk to God and let him talk to us, plays a vital role here.
Elsa Hagedorn
Devotion taken from “Impulse” July 2009 issue (Pietermaritzburg Congregation)
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