Article September 21, 1940 Issue

Joy

THOMAS LOVATT WILLIAMS

Of all the manifold gifts bestowed on man there is none greater than joy. Joy is a product of Love. It is allied to well-being and happiness. In other words, it is of God. The Apostle James made this arresting statement: "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." Joy is a perfect gift expressed by God's divine idea, man, and as such it is subject to no change or interruption, but belongs to him in full measure eternally.

In human relationships joy is a great asset. It denotes lightness of heart and freedom from fear and anxiety. It carries with it a sense of humor that refuses to be controlled by gloom and heaviness. The great Shakespeare was moved to remark, "A merry heart goes all the day," and every observer of human nature knows this and realizes the buoyant nature of that happy characteristic.

Christ Jesus, however, knew a deeper and more satisfying joy than that of mere lightheartedness; and, what is more, he knew the reason for it. With him joy was inseparable from Life, and the Life which he taught and demonstrated was God. Realizing the fact of man's immortality, knowing that the only Life is God, good, the Master was able to say with authority, "Your joy no man taketh from you." He could assure the disciples of this with majestic confidence, even when he was on the threshold of the greatest of all ordeals—the crucifixion.

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