The Candle of Joy

Yesterday we lit the third candle of Advent - the candle of joy.  Joy is a word that gets thrown around a lot. Yet I think we miss the great weight of this word.  We easily mistake joy for happiness. If we feel happy or are excited about something, we call it joy.  If there are some things happening that feel positive to us, we call our response joy. But what we are really talking about is happiness.  Happiness rests on the circumstances and situations in our lives. Joy is anchored in something much deeper and much more solid.

It might help to think of this as two tracks that our lives run on.  The first track runs according to what happens to us. It is made up of our health, the state of our marriage, the grades on our finals, and the speeding ticket we got.  But the second track is not so much what happens to us, but rather what is true of us. This track is about who we are and to whom we belong. Joy is based on this second track.  So while our circumstances will change, sometimes dramatically, our God and our identity do not. Happiness is fleeting. Joy is permanent. Happiness changes with the circumstances of our lives.  Joy runs straight and true right through those circumstances. Joy is based on a Son who was born to us, a Son who died for us, a Son to whom we belong.