The Joy Completion

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— ² the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— ³ that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. ⁴ And we are writing these things so that our^[a] joy may be complete.  1 John 1:1-4

I found this interesting this morning as I listened to the words of 1st John. We KNOW that one of the FRUITS of the Spirit is JOY, and many of us struggle to fully comprehend JOY in comparison to “Happiness”.  Those that call on the name of Christ Jesus get JOY from the Spirit and a faith oriented life outputs JOY as a natural result of the work Christ has done in their life.

What crossed my mind as so interesting this morning was the last sentence in verse 4.

 And we are writing these things so that our^[a] joy may be complete. 

Am I reading this correctly? That JOY is not complete until this “writing” or perhaps another word to exchange there is “preaching” or maybe even “evangelizing.” Hear me out on this, sharing the Good News MAY COMPLETE the byproduct (JOY) of the Spirit? 

I pondered on this for some time and the more my thoughts centered on JOY and how God uses His “fullness” and Spirit in our hearts, the more it made sense. The JOY is always present for the believer through FAITH ALONE but it’s FULLNESS and COMPLETION comes upon the sharing with others.

A couple more verses on the blessing of JOY for reference:

Psalm 16:11

¹¹ You make known to me the path of life;
    in your presence there is fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

 

Ecclesiastes 5:20

For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart.

Isaiah 35:10

And the ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.

It is no debate that the LORD gives JOY. Countless stories in today’s time will prove this including that of my own. Additionally, we read of all the history in the scriptures pointing to the blessing of JOY for literally every one touched by the Hand of God. Despite this intense “joy distribution”; the verse remains…

And we are writing these things so that our^[a] joy may be complete. 

Sharing, preaching, writing, witnessing… whatever your avenue to getting the Gospel into the ears and hearts of others… this will complete your joy. Make note, this is perhaps John’s writings. A man that witnessed first hand the life and miracles and torture and resurrection of Christ, followed by much of the same treatment to himself in the years following. Leading to the final abandonment of society leaving him on the deserted island of Patmos? Alone only to remained blessed and JOY filled by our Father.  Yet, he continued and wanted more… more preaching, more sharing, more writing, more witness… until his last breaths he was convicted to share the Good News. It’s the Joy Completion. Fullness in Christ and the Father and Spirit leaves us with a JOY everlasting, and your efforts to share that JOY with others completes it’s beauty. Be Blessed. 

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