"that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."
1 John 1:3-4 (NKJV)
The other day, I saw a group of young children on the way to their school. One thing I noticed is that several of the children were talking with each other, laughing, smiling, and playing around as they walked along. Of course, not every child was doing that, but several of them were. As I saw these things, I thought to myself that while so many of these children are smiling, it usually happens that when the children become adults, they seem to lose their smile. This seemed a bit sad to me, and I thought that none of us should ever lose our smile.
When we are happy, and when things are going great, we smile. One reason we might say that children laugh and smile so easily is that they are not dealing with a lot of the things in life that we all have to deal with as we become adults. But, as Christians, we should never lose our smile, because our life is not based on our circumstances and the things we deal with in life. Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength, and if that is true (and it is), then Christians should have a smile on their face no matter what the situation may be.
In 1 John 1, the Apostle John wrote that he wanted believers to have fellowship with each other and that their joy would be full. John made two important points here: having proper fellowship and focusing on what has been written in God's Word will help us be full of joy. It is easy to look at life and our circumstances and lose our smile and lose our joy, but if we stay in proper fellowship with God and we stay focused on God's Word, we can have joy in the midst of the challenges of life. Our joy, and our smile should not depend on our outward circumstances, but on our relationship with God.
And these things we write to you that your joy may be full."
1 John 1:3-4 (NKJV)
The other day, I saw a group of young children on the way to their school. One thing I noticed is that several of the children were talking with each other, laughing, smiling, and playing around as they walked along. Of course, not every child was doing that, but several of them were. As I saw these things, I thought to myself that while so many of these children are smiling, it usually happens that when the children become adults, they seem to lose their smile. This seemed a bit sad to me, and I thought that none of us should ever lose our smile.
When we are happy, and when things are going great, we smile. One reason we might say that children laugh and smile so easily is that they are not dealing with a lot of the things in life that we all have to deal with as we become adults. But, as Christians, we should never lose our smile, because our life is not based on our circumstances and the things we deal with in life. Nehemiah 8:10 says the joy of the Lord is our strength, and if that is true (and it is), then Christians should have a smile on their face no matter what the situation may be.
In 1 John 1, the Apostle John wrote that he wanted believers to have fellowship with each other and that their joy would be full. John made two important points here: having proper fellowship and focusing on what has been written in God's Word will help us be full of joy. It is easy to look at life and our circumstances and lose our smile and lose our joy, but if we stay in proper fellowship with God and we stay focused on God's Word, we can have joy in the midst of the challenges of life. Our joy, and our smile should not depend on our outward circumstances, but on our relationship with God.
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