Do You Raidate Joy?

I read about a young teacher who went overseas to teach English in a poor city.  When she arrived she found an atmosphere of gloom and depression.  The people went about doing their jobs, but no one seemed happy.  They didn’t do anything to help or encourage each other.  However, this young teacher decided she was going show the people how to bring some joy into the lives of others.  You see, this young lady was a Christian.

 Little by little she did what she could to be of help to other people.  She smiled and was friendly.  She could often be heard either singing or humming songs and hymns.  The people noticed.  And they began to change.  The atmosphere at that school soon became filled with people who were helping each other, smiling and being friendly.  One day a visiting administrator came to the school and was surprised to see such warmth and joy among the teachers and students.  When he asked the principal why everyone was smiling, friendly and happy, he was told,  “Jesus brings joy.”  He soon learned that the young lady who had come to teach English in their school was a Christian filled with the joy of Jesus.

 There is enough gloom and doom in the world today.  What the world needs now is for Christian people to start acting like they are happy to be a Christian.  We need to start by showing our joy in the presence of other Christians.  We need to show our joy in our families.  We need to show our joy at our jobs, and we need to show our joy in our neighborhoods.

 When the angel of the Lord appeared to the shepherds at the time of the birth of Jesus he said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people."  Luke 2:10