The Joy Commission

“I feel like I’ve wasted my life. After what I’ve experienced this week, I can’t return to my life as it was.” This was what one of my team-mates said this week as they reflected on their time on the campus of ASU, sharing the good news of Jesus with students alongside campus ministries and RZIM. Why? Joy.

When Jesus sends out his disciples in pairs in Luke 10, they are ill-equipped, and like sheep in the midst of wolves. And yet, Jesus doesn’t wait for them to be “ready,” he sends them as they are to preach the good news of the arrival of his kingdom—the place where people are healed, set free and made whole. And what do they experience? Joy.

My daughter Evelyn loves to help me around the house. Any time I ask her if she would like to help me with something, she jumps at the chance. She loves spending time with her Daddy as he does his work. And the look on her face as she hears me say to her, “good job,” is indescribable, but the emotion she is experiencing is obvious: Joy.

When we experience what it is like to be on mission with our heavenly Father, who is reconciling the world to himself through the rule and reign of his Son, we experience joy. The joy of finding ourselves in the midst of our purpose. The joy of seeing lives transformed by the good news of the kingdom of God. The joy of spending time with our heavenly Father. Joy.

This joy is not limited to 2,000 years ago. It is not limited to ASU. It is not limited to “professional Christians” like pastors. This joy is for all. So, what would it look like to do this in our everyday lives? To bring the good news of the kingdom to those around us? To minister to those around us? To experience life on mission with Jesus as his disciple? Joy.

My prayer is that we may all come to know this joy.

Ellis White
Pastoral Assistant