Joy as a Characteristic of Love
Yesterday, I shared with you some new insights into the fruit of the Spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23. If you missed it, you’ll want to go back and check that out before reading any further.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.”
Today, I’d like to go through each of those attributes one by one to see how they correspond to the characteristics of love outlined in I Corinthians 13. In keeping the thought that the fruit of the Spirit is love, let’s begin with the first trait listed, which is joy.
Merriam Webster defines joy as “the emotion evoked by well-being, success, or good fortune or by the prospect of possessing what one desires; delight.” On the surface, that sounds shallow and perhaps as if the word is being used interchangeably with “happiness.” But, if we see how Strong’s Concordance defines joy, we’ll discover this: “cheerfulness; calm delight; gladness.”
When I first read these two definitions, a particular Bible verse popped into my head.
“Delight thyself also in the Lord: and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. ”
Delight. Desires. Sound familiar? The Bible also makes it clear we are to rejoice in the Lord, which means to have joy in Him. So, what does that have to do with love? How are the two connected? To find that out, we need only look at the love chapter, I Corinthians 13.
Verse 5 tells us that love “seeketh not her own.” Love is unselfish. It puts others first. That’s precisely what joy does. It’s been repeatedly published as the very definition of joy. When used as an acronym, joy stands for Jesus, Others, and You. It’s all about putting others before ourselves, making sure that the needs of others are taken care of before caring for our own needs. Joy—as an outflow of love—is selfless.
Verse 6 continues by telling us that love rejoices in the truth. It finds joy in what is true and right. Without love, joy couldn’t exist. They go hand in hand—not so much like peanut butter and jelly, but more like a cow and milk. Milk is a by-product of the cow just as joy is a by-product of love.
The remarkable thing is that joy doesn’t end there. Not only is it a by-product of love, but it is also the source of strength according to Nehemiah.
“Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the Lord is your strength. ”
That strength then leads to a whole host of possibilities in Christ (Philippians 4:13). Do you see what I’m getting at? Love is the root of it all, and that only makes sense when we consider that God is love. I’ve often found myself on the search for joy. Sometimes, it seems to elude me, and I waste valuable time and energy trying to either find or create it. But, until my love is right, joy won’t be there. It can’t be. The good news is, now I know where to look. Joy can’t be found in my circumstances or my comfort zones. It can only be found in God, in love—true love.