WARNING! EPIC FAIL AHEAD!

1 John 1:1That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us. 3We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. 4We write this to make our joy complete

Over the past week, I have been looking forward to this verse more than any other. I want to warn you in advance that the more that I thought about it, the more I realized that I would not be able to do the verse justice. I simply do not have the writing skills necessary to convey the power in that one simple sentence. Unfortunately for you (the reader) I am going to try anyway. Be aware as well that this post will probably be lengthy, for if I can not find the correct words, then I will throw as many words as possible at the subject in a meager hope that you might get a glimpse of the joy that I am going to speak of tonight.

The joy of the father

Luke 15:20 ..."But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

I do not wish to bend the text in 1 John to fit this verse and claim that John was necessarily including God the Father in the "our". However, I would like to claim the joy of the father (small f) as one of the joys I look forward to when proclaiming Christ. I long to see you still a long way off but heading home. I long to recognize that you have indeed chosen your heavenly Father. Do you know that the word compassion means to suffer with someone? I long to suffer for your salvation, to agonize over your decision. I want to cry with you as a father cries with his children. I want to hold you close so that maybe I can protect you. I want to tell you that everything will be alright. All is forgiven. The picture I have from the passage above is of an elderly man running down a dusty lane with his robes flowing behind him. Not caring about etiquette or what the elders at the church might think. With his arms out before him and a wide grin on his face and yes, even tears in his eyes. Oh, the joy he must have felt to see his once dead son returning home to him. I long to someday have the boldness to be this father, to run to meet with open arms a new child of God. To welcome him in and to throw my arms around him without a single concern for my own reputation. This is the joy of the father that I speak of but somehow can never manage to display. You see, I already have all of those feelings but I am reluctant to act on them. But the joy, the joy is real. And the reason I write this is to make our joy complete.

The joy of the son
Romans 8:1Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.

I hope that you realize that I am attempting to tie this all together. To back scripture with scripture. I pray that you remain patient with me. Imagine the look on the face of the prodigal son as his father came running down the dusty lane with robes flowing behind him. I wonder what was going through his mind at that time. I have some ideas that may be close from my own walk with God and my return to Him from a far off place. I imagine there was quite a bit of trepidation. Fear of punishment and judgment must have been in there as well. If we actually return to Luke we can get an idea from the son's prepared speech:
15:21...'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'
Notice how the son felt that condemnation was both coming and deserved. He knew that he had done wrong and that his father had every right to reject him. Yet the embrace and the kiss and the banquet in his honor told him that in spite of all his shortcomings, in spite of wishing his own father dead, in spite of squandering his inheritance, in spite of all of this: his father loved him. Imagine the joy at that moment. When we recognize the truth of the passage in Romans above, the joy is overwhelming. We are no longer condemned for we are in Christ Jesus. This my friends, is the joy of the son. This is the joy I get to claim every day for I no longer stand condemned before my Father. This is why I proclaim Christ Jesus, to make our joy complete.

The joy of the brother
Philippians 2:1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.

The brother in the story of the prodigal son got it wrong. This was why he became angry and refused to go in. He refused to enter his father's house because he was jealous of the way the father had treated his brother. He thought he knew better than the father. Think about this for a while.

I noticed something strange a while back. I began to suffer with the teens at my church. When they hurt, I hurt. This is the meaning of compassion. I had not had this happen to me outside of best friends and immediate family before. It gets even stranger. I soon began to desire to have this compassion more and more. I had no desire that any of them hurt or go through difficult times, heavens no. But what I found was I wanted to care enough about them and be close enough with them that we were of the same mind. When they were happy, I was happy. When they were sad, I was sad. This my friends is the joy of the brother. When we walk together with Christ, we are of the same mind so of course your joy makes me happy and adds to my joy. It completes it. We should be there for each other and ready to bear each other's burdens. That is what a brother should do, not stand in condemnation. This is why I proclaim this message so that you may also know the joy of the fellowship of walking with your brother. This is why I proclaim Jesus to you, so that our joy may be complete.

We write this to make our joy complete.

I hope that you understand now. There is a very profound word in this verse that you may not have noticed. The word is our. The KJV actually uses the word your. Perhaps that clarifies it for you some. My desire for you is that you know the joy of the father. That you will desire the salvation of others and join our Father in calling those who would believe. My desire is that you would know the joy of the son and know that you are no longer condemned, that you will recognize that your Father loves you in spite of all your faults. My desire is that you will know the joy of the brother, walking in oneness of spirit and purpose and sharing in the compassion that comes with the love of a brother. I write this so that you may know this joy, so that your joy may be complete. And if somehow possible, perhaps my joy may be made more complete as well.

Peace, Bruce