Greater Joy Than Sorrow

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” (Joh 16:20 AV)

The joy of the world cannot be compared with the joy of the saints.  That to which Christ is referring is the joy which the world shared at the death of the Savior.  For those who do not believe, their joy continues.  Their joy is shallow, fleeting, and temporary.  The joy of the saints came three days later.  When Christ arose, there was no greater joy!  The world may not believe it and rejoice in a lie – that it – that Jesus is dead and never rose again.  But the joy of the saint is founded in absolute truth.  That being, Jesus is God and Christ rose victorious from the grave.  The LORD was reassuring His disciples He was going to die a death that would be humiliating for both Him and those who follow Him.  Yet, after three days, He would rise again and put His enemies to shame.

It is not easy living a life that attempts to live for Christ.  We fail way too often.  Heap upon this the joy which the world experiences while we struggle only compounds the experience.  When a baker in Colorado is forced to bake a cake against his will – they rejoice.  When a church makes the headlines because they inform a woman breast feeding is public it can become a distraction and a bit immodest – they rejoice.  When a church is shot up by a crazed man who was a former disgruntled member – they rejoice.   When a preacher falls into immorality and shame is brought to the name of Christ – they rejoice.  When churches close for lack of interest – they rejoice.  When laws are passed that frustrate the spreading of the gospel – they rejoice.  When the church can no longer counsel or sell books that counsel reparative therapy – they rejoice.  When selling the Bible in a Christian book store becomes illegal because it deals with same gender relationships as an abomination – they rejoice.  When a Christian clerk refuses to issue a marriage license and refers the case to a co-worker resulting in national embarrassment and expensive court cases – they rejoice.

Here is the good news.  The LORD is coming back and all of these things will be in the past.  No amount of rebellion on man’s part kept Jesus Christ in the grave.  No stone was heavy enough to keep the LORD in His tomb.  There never was enough strategy to keep the news of the resurrected Christ from spreading like wildfire.  The world could not keep Jesus in the grave literally or figuratively.  In the same sense, the world cannot pass enough laws to keep Jesus from coming again.  There isn’t enough weaponry to conquer the LORD at Armageddon.  There aren’t enough bonfires to burn all the Bibles in the world.  The devil is not strong enough from keeping the two witnesses from miraculously rising again.  The Savior will return.  He will set up His kingdom and rule it with a rod of iron.  We will rejoice.  We do rejoice.  Not for what it, but what will be!  Glory to God.