Joy into life ...

Let us read a few excerpts from Foster’s book, The Celebration of Discipline, to help direct our minds and hearts as we learn about the Discipline of Celebration.

“Celebration brings joy into life, and joy makes us strong. Scripture tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. (Nehemiah 8:10) We cannot continue long in anything without it. Women endure childbirth because the joy of motherhood lies on the other side. Young married couples struggle through the first difficult years of adjustment because they value the insurance of a long life together. Parents hold steady through the teen years, knowing that their children will emerge at the other end human once again.”

“Joy is the part of the fruit of the Spirit. (Galatians 5:22) Often I am inclined to think that joy is the motor, the thing that keeps everything else going. Without joyous celebration to infuse the other Disciplines, we will sooner or later abandon them. Joy produces energy. Joy makes us strong.”

Richard Foster places the discipline of Celebration at the end of his book, partly because he says that you must work on your other disciplines first. Truly being able to celebrate is one of the hardest disciplines. How easy is it to look at our new born baby and be joyful and be so excited and ready to celebrate our love for our God? How easy is it to celebrate on the day we give our life to our spouse? How easy is it to celebrate when we watch someone we love give their life to Jesus and arise from the waters of baptism?

But can we celebrate on a daily basis? Can we wake up and see the joy in life that day? I believe Foster was right to have this as one of his final disciplines. Finding that joy and that ease to celebrate is something that happens from the overflow of so many of the other disciplines. How is your joy today? Are you able to Celebrate, and what does he mean by Celebrate? We will talk about this over the next few days. Let me leave you with this challenge.

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7

Jason