Yesterday, something really fun happened in my life. My favorite baseball team growing up won their playoff series and advanced in the playoffs. Last year, I had a great deal of joy as they made it all the way to the World Series for the first time ever (up until that point, they had won a total of one playoff game, and had never advanced). For those who may be wondering, my favorite baseball team is the Texas Rangers.
I remember growing up and finding a great deal of joy and happiness when the sports teams I supported did well. When my favorite football team, the Dallas Cowboys, had some good years in the 1990s, I celebrated, and in many cases, my joy in life ebbed and flowed depending on how well my teams did. When they won, I was happy. When they lost, I was sad.
That's what makes it a bit incredible now. I'm happy for my baseball team, but my joy and happiness does not depend on how well or poor they happen to be doing. While I would still consider myself a big sports fan, I have come to realize that joy in life comes from many different things, and especially, from my relationship with God and my fellow believers.
In a letter to Christians in a town called Philippi, Paul writes that they should "rejoice in the Lord always." (Philippians 4:4) When I daily think that God has made me, and He has molded me to be the person that I am, I find a lot of reasons to rejoice. I am given the opportunity to work and use the gifts that He has given me, and I strive to do so in a way that points to Him. So I find joy that my life, in some small way, points to my God. I find each day that I stand in need of His forgiveness, grace, and mercy, and rejoice to find that He has a never-ending supply of those to pour into my life because of Jesus and the cross. Each day, I find countless opportunities to be a neighbor to others, to demonstrate love for my neighbors in so many different ways, and I take great joy that I recognize some of them and see God's hand at work when I do so.
I also see how God pours out joy into my life. I see it when I spend time talking to my wife, and discovering daily just how much God loves me by having her share my life. I see it when I have regular interactions with people that I enjoy being around, with whom I enjoy talking, and being able to share in their joy, even as I share my joy with them. I see how God has created many relationships through my frequent runs, and how He has opened the door to many wonderful conversations through those relationships.
All of these bring much greater joy to me now than how well my baseball team may ever do. Yes, if my Rangers win the World Series, I will be jumping up and down, and may even buy a T-Shirt to remember the occasion. But no matter how happy that kind of event might make me, it pales in comparison to the daily joy that I see God providing around me, through me, and to me, in so many ways.
I remember growing up and finding a great deal of joy and happiness when the sports teams I supported did well. When my favorite football team, the Dallas Cowboys, had some good years in the 1990s, I celebrated, and in many cases, my joy in life ebbed and flowed depending on how well my teams did. When they won, I was happy. When they lost, I was sad.
That's what makes it a bit incredible now. I'm happy for my baseball team, but my joy and happiness does not depend on how well or poor they happen to be doing. While I would still consider myself a big sports fan, I have come to realize that joy in life comes from many different things, and especially, from my relationship with God and my fellow believers.
In a letter to Christians in a town called Philippi, Paul writes that they should "rejoice in the Lord always." (Philippians 4:4) When I daily think that God has made me, and He has molded me to be the person that I am, I find a lot of reasons to rejoice. I am given the opportunity to work and use the gifts that He has given me, and I strive to do so in a way that points to Him. So I find joy that my life, in some small way, points to my God. I find each day that I stand in need of His forgiveness, grace, and mercy, and rejoice to find that He has a never-ending supply of those to pour into my life because of Jesus and the cross. Each day, I find countless opportunities to be a neighbor to others, to demonstrate love for my neighbors in so many different ways, and I take great joy that I recognize some of them and see God's hand at work when I do so.
I also see how God pours out joy into my life. I see it when I spend time talking to my wife, and discovering daily just how much God loves me by having her share my life. I see it when I have regular interactions with people that I enjoy being around, with whom I enjoy talking, and being able to share in their joy, even as I share my joy with them. I see how God has created many relationships through my frequent runs, and how He has opened the door to many wonderful conversations through those relationships.
All of these bring much greater joy to me now than how well my baseball team may ever do. Yes, if my Rangers win the World Series, I will be jumping up and down, and may even buy a T-Shirt to remember the occasion. But no matter how happy that kind of event might make me, it pales in comparison to the daily joy that I see God providing around me, through me, and to me, in so many ways.
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