there is a juxtaposing nature to our reality:
while one celebrates birth, another death.
while one divorces, another marries.
while one plants seeds of life, another sows destruction.
while one meets success, another failure.
while one bears the gift of life, another grieves barrenness.
while one encounters poverty, another riches.
while one greets beauty, another is plagued by pain.
while one experiences joy, another sorrow.
…
today i want to explore the mystery and reality
that two truths can coexist at once.
we see this in the game
‘two truths and a lie’.
all humour, jokes,
have a basis of truth.
this is a very subtle way
our society teaches us.
two things can be true at once.
cinematic storytelling also reveals to us,
in films like the matrix and inception, that:
two realities can be real at once.
this truth is hard for our minds to
fathom as we often want things
to be true or false, here or there,
black and white, not both at once.
the Chinese have known of this truth for
centuries in the famous ‘Yin and Yang’ circle.
the circle comprises opposing forces,
complementary light and dark aspects,
that teach us the philosophical principle
that there are coexisting dualities in life.
in these dualities, the Chinese believe that
balance is possible, that there can be a
harmony achieved in the tensions of life.
Yin and Yang is a helpful visual for understanding
the dualities and juxtapositions and tensions of life.
two opposing things can coexist at once.
two things that don’t make sense
when you put them together,
can still be found together.
this philosophical principle is the foundation for
what i want to explore today – which is how we
can hold in tandem, two juxtaposing truths.
ultimately though, i want to look at the juxtaposition of joy.
as many of our Christmas carols speak to joy,
joy to the world, great tidings of comfort and joy,
the question is – how do we hold onto joy,
in the midst of the turbulence of life?
to start, let us consider the seasonal nature to our reality.
we live our lives subject to the seasonal nature
of the created world, the created order. there is
a season for everything under the sun, we learn
in the book of Ecclesiastes [3]. and there are
seasons that hold juxtaposing realities for us.
“there is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.”
in Chinese philosophy, it is believed that the purpose
of these different seasons and forces in our lives
is to find a balance. perhaps, of our own accord,
or perhaps, through belief that divine intervention
will ensure a balance of the seasons within one’s life.
in Christianity though, we understand that each season
in and of itself has a purpose and a place, regardless of
whether balance or a harmonious blend of season exists.
in fact, we do not see a promise anywhere in the Scriptures
that the seasons of life were designed for equilibrium –
instead, we see they were designed for God’s created order,
not for a man-created order or desire for harmony and balance.
God’s divine order does not align to our idea of order, as
a human construct. God’s ways are not like our ways.
God operates outside of time, which means, when seasons
were created, with a time divinely designed for each thing
to occur under the sun, this timing and design is not bound
to our limited human understanding of timing and seasons.
in fact, there is not one seasonal timeline at play, there are
many overlapping timelines, individually and collectively,
which means the seasonal nature of our lives can appear
to be juxtaposing, and in tension, with those around us.
the timeline of one’s life may be differ significantly from the next,
which is why comparison can be such a thief of joy. but. if we
want joy to endure despite these differences, it is not just a case
of not comparing ourselves to one another. comparison is merely
a metric for the juxtaposition, the dualities of life. it is a reminder
that there are tensions to our existence. what we really need, in
order to hold onto joy, and not allow comparison to steal our joy,
is to understand the reason why different timelines and seasons exist.
we have a taste of God’s divine order in how he designed
the seasons of creation. we see intentionality in seasons:
there are seasons of sowing, fertilising, harvesting.
there are seasons of rain, sun, flowering, drought.
not all seasons are times for growth and abundance.
there may be seasons of preparation and sowing.
unfortunately, it is hard to see the beauty of a season
of preparation when we compare ourselves to another
who is in a season of reaping the harvest of what is sown.
one may be praying for what their neighbour has.
so how does the one waiting face their neighbour? how
do we look our unanswered prayer in the face? how do
we allow joy to be our auto-pilot, our default response,
to other’s blessings, regardless of our own circumstance?
it is hard to understand in the moments of lack,
of want, that there may be seasons of waiting.
there may be seasons where we need to be denied and
deprived of certain things, if we are to bear fruit that will last.
fruit that is not fertilised with the things of the world.
the connected nature of our society through technology,
means that there is a temptation to only show the seasons
where we experience abundance, instead of deprivation.
we are not taught to wait on the Lord, to turn to Him as our
Provider of every need, to be content in Him, regardless of
our condition or circumstance. we are instead taught the
opposite. the Enemy wants us trained for convenience, to
operate in an auto-pilot mode that does not expose us to
the dependance we were created and born with. for we are,
at our core, creatures who are dependant on provision.
the seasonal nature of this world is a pattern of provision.
God created the seasonal nature of our reality with
divine intention, purpose and restoration in mind.
God’s design for us is not for harmonious balance,
but for everlasting joy and eternal satisfaction.
God created seasonal patterns not to achieve equilibrium,
but to establish his divine order for creation, for existence.
“rhythms and seasons are divinely
designed and regarded as very good.”
[Things of Earth, Joe Rigney]
so when the tensions and dualities of this world do not
make sense to us, when we have to weigh up two
co-existing truths in our lives, we are invited to trust
and depend on a God who is the creator of divine order.
there are powers and principalities in this world, in life,
that we do not see. there are opposing forces at work
in the supernatural realm, that may not manifest in the
natural realm. this means that as humans, we do not
have the ability to see all the juxtaposing realities of life.
there is an ongoing tension, a spiritual battle, in this world.
there is a war, not for harmony, but for our hearts.
God allows us to experience the tensions, the juxtapositions,
the dualities, because it allows us to understand the double-edged
sword he has given us. in Scripture, this sword is the Word of God.
the Word of God is alive and active, sharper and more penetrating
than any natural blade. it separates the spiritual from the physical.
and this is the truth to our coexisting reality as Christians:
while we have been given the Spirit of God (spiritual)
why fight against flesh and blood (the physical).
the kingdom of God comes into juxtaposition
with the kingdom of the world. and the children
of God do not belong to the world, but to Him.
so there is a greater tension and battle at hand.
we do not fully fathom the ways, the timings, the plans
that God has for this world. we must navigate the tension
of this broken, divided, disordered world, while trusting in
God’s plan to redeem, reconcile and restore all things to Himself.
so where does joy fit into the juxtapositions and seasons?
there have been many seasons and circumstances in life
that i have allowed to dwindle my joy, to crush my spirit.
when joy has failed to run deep into my bones.
this happens when i allow counterfeits of joy into my life.
true joy does not fail us. true joy cannot be taken from us.
if we find ourselves lacking joy, then we must turn
to the psalmist, who reminds us how find joy:
“in your presence there is fullness of joy” [ps.17:11]
if i find myself in a season where my joy is lacking, when
joy has failed to run deep into my bones, i must ask myself,
with all honestly, if i have been dwelling and abiding in God.
have i been in his presence?
have i been filled to overflowing
by the fullness found in Him?
the joy found in Him and Him alone?
there is a heart evaluation that needs to occur, a question
to our inner self, as to what we have assigned in our life
as a source of joy, in place of the Lord. for as the prophet
Nehemiah [8:10] says, “the joy of the Lord is your strength”.
in this context of Nehemiah, we encounter an instance of
God’s people weeping, expressing grief and sorrow, and
the leaders call them out on it. reminding them that God’s
presence is a source of strength and delight – not sadness!
this reveals to us that there is a seasonal nature to our
hearts expression. there are times when it is appropriate
to weep and lament, and times when it is not. when it comes
to God, His presence is not a place where we encounter sadness;
no – in His presence, is the fullness, the strength, of joy!
what this tells us, is that coming to His presence is enough to fill us,
to sustain us. with joy. the true delight and desire of our hearts.
but this doesn’t mean there is no place for weeping or sadness.
it just means, that there is a time and place. a season for it.
we are not to remain in a place of sadness. no, we are to find the
joy of the Lord, and we are to abide, to dwell, to remain there.
Jesus speaks to how we may navigate the juxtaposition of joy:
“truly, truly i say to you, you will weep and lament,
but the world will rejoice. you will be sorrowful, but
your sorrow will turn to joy … you have sorrow now, but
i will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and
no one will take your joy from you” [john 16:20, 22]
Jesus acknowledges that there will be weeping, lamenting, sorrow.
this is directly associated in this context to His departure, His death.
His absence (by correlation = the absence of God’s presence) will
invite sadness and sorrow. for joy is correlated to His presence.
but. Jesus gives a hint, a glimmer, of the hope to come. that there
is joy, rejoicing, that will last. that Jesus’ departure will not mean
the departure of joy in this world. just as joy entering the world is a
cause for celebration, joy does not depart the world at the cross
and usher forth a kingdom of sadness. no. Jesus indicates that he
will see his disciples again. and that his return will usher forward a
joy that will be everlasting. though there is a rejoicing that the world
experiences at his departure, there is a greater joy, a promise, that
He gives to His people. a promise for joy that endures. that reigns.
this Joy is a promise.
and after His death and resurrection, Jesus returned with
a gift that heralded joy. the Spirit. one of the fruits of
the Spirit is joy. and so we learn that true joy, is not our own.
there is a source, and we who know that source, know that
He has revealed Himself to us. and His Spirit is the promise,
the assurance, that He will keep His promise. His presence
will remain, will dwell, in our heart. allowing Joy to abide.
when we taste and see this joy, our heart delights.
“delight yourself in the Lord, and he will
give you the desired of your heart” [ps.37:4]
this delight is a call to joy, an invitation to
find pleasure in the Lord, not in the things of this world.
when we find joy in His heart, our hearts delight
in what brings Him delight – His desires become our desires.
this is a gift to be stewarded. it is the ultimate gift given.
while Christmas is about Christ, the Son of God, given to us,
we must not also forget the Spirit of God, the gift the Son has given to us.
this is the present of Presence.
the ultimate Christmas Gift.
the ultimate source of Joy.
so to finish, how do we choose joy in
light of the juxtapositions of life?
joy is a choice. when the Bible
introduces us to joy, we are
introduced to a powerful inner force,
a gladness of heart, that is not
contingent on our circumstances.
we choose joy, when we choose
to not allow our circumstances
to affect our heart’s desire for delight.
joy is made to be expressive, emotional.
joy invites celebration, gratitude, worship
to rejoice is to choose joy.
that’s not to say that what threatens
to steal our joy, our hope, our delight
is to be ignored or dismissed.
no, we have to fight for joy.
if the Enemy can lead us away from joy
he can lead us to focus on the sorrow.
but God wants us to rejoice in our suffering,
that we may find joy, and ultimately, find
hope in Him, in the midst of our suffering.
we can choose to silence joy
in seasons of suffering
or we can choose joy
despite the seasons of life.
i’ve spent too long allowing my joy
to be dependent on the temporal.
so if you’re not in a place of joy, you’re not alone.
too many of us don’t know what it means to
abide and remain joyful, despite life’s tensions.
what the Chinese Yin and Yang misses is that
the point of these dynamic dualities in life
is not to find balance or harmony, but rather,
these dynamic dualities reveal the need for
a stronger force, something that can bind and
hold all things together, despite their tendency
and vulnerability to duality and imbalance.
we need a cure for the problem (brokenness),
not a treatment for the symptom (imbalance).
what if life is not about happiness and harmony,
achieving equilibrium as a state of being (“peace”).
what if life is about joy and the hope of our salvation,
Jesus, who bridged the ultimate duality of man and God.
Jesus teaches us what true joy looks like, when He
lives in alignment with God’s plan and purpose.
Hebrews [12:2] explains that Jesus endured the cross
“for the joy set before Him.” joy was His reward!
he knew there was joy to come. so while he may have
endured the pain and torment of death on a cross,
he knew there was joy to come, in His resurrection and
return to being seated at the right hand of the Father.
Jesus lived the tension, the coexisting reality of pain and joy.
and he extended the gift of the Spirit to us,
that we may delight in the Love and Joy
found in the fellowship that He has:
Jesus, the son of God, with our Father, the God Almighty.
we are invited to partake in an
endless giving and receiving
not just of love, but of joy.
…
so what do we do with the juxtapositions? how do we
understand joy in light of the juxtapositions of life?
in the Bible, we see joy and sorrow
coexisting. take a look at the psalm:
“weeping may endure for a night,
but joy comes in the morning.” [30:5]
we see that weeping does not prevent joy,
nor does joy negate the need for weeping.
these two occur in sequence, a divine motion.
for all emotion is about motion – it is not
meant to be stored in the body for long,
otherwise it will translate into pain.
the greatest emotional tensions of life
is that we would not understand joy
if we did not know of suffering.
it is because of seasons of long-suffering,
that we understand why joy is so powerful.
joy that endures is joy that is not contingent
on sorrow, but can exist within life’s sorrow.
suffering does not need to diminish our capacity for joy.
similarly, blessing does not increase our capacity for joy.
in Ecclesiastes 6, we learn that there is an evil, a burden,
under the sun. this is something that plagues humanity.
this evil is, that even is we are blessed with all of our worldly
needs. a celebrity. a billionaire. immune from need. complete with
the provision of wealth, material needs, status. even if we lack
nothing in life — God may not give us the power to enjoy it.
this is the reality we see in the world. contentment. joy. are not
contingent on circumstances. these may sway our temporary,
fleeting emotions. but they will not provide us with an assurance,
a foundation, a strength, or a provision of joy that withstands.
it is God who give us the power to enjoy this life. Joy is His to give.
for He is the ultimate provider. the Provider of all. if he is not acknowledged,
if we do not attribute our provision in life to Him, our seasons to Him,
it is His right to withhold us the power to enjoy what He has given us.
only when we acknowledge Him, delight in Him, do we also encounter the
power of His Spirit, the everlasting ability to enjoy who He is, and what He gives.
this is why we read in Ecclesiastes that the portion we have been given in life is to enjoy life.
to eat with joy, to drink with a merry heart. we are to ENJOY – in fellowship our Provider.
“so if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all;
but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many” [11:8]
this verse reminds us, that there will be, the juxtaposition, the dualities,
the forces that oppose God’s Light in this world. that is to say, the lesson
here is, that the presence of joy does not mean the absence of suffering.
we must learn to hold onto joy and light, so
that it may coexist with despair and darkness.
but ultimately, because of the Spirit within us,
we are invited to allow Light to reign in us, that
we may walk as children of light in this world.
so too are we are invited to allow joy to reign in us,
that we may walk as children of joy in this world.
…
there is, ultimately, a truth hidden deep within our existence:
our Provider created us to be provided to. our Purpose-Maker
gave us a purpose. as our brothers and sisters before us have
defined this heart desire, as the chief end of humankind:
“to glorify God and enjoy him forever.”
[westminster shorter catechism]
C. S. Lewis echoes this same sentiment. that we glory, as humans,
in hearing that we please the One whose pleasure we desire to fulfil.
[The Weight of Glory, C.S. Lewis]
joy then, is not a temporary desire for a temporary purpose.
joy calls us higher.
joy calls to us, despite the juxtapositions.
we are invited to wrestle with joy, to be fight for joy,
and ultimately, to be found in Joy, in the presence of
the One who gives us the ability to enjoy His creation.
“life cannot have any other purpose than joy and goodness.
only this purpose—joy—is ultimately worthy of life.”
[leo tolstoy]
“try to keep your soul always in peace and quiet, always ready
for whatever our Lord may wish to work in you. it is certainly a
higher virtue of the soul, and a greater grace, to be able to enjoy
the Lord in different times and different places than in only one.”
[Ignatius of Loyola]
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