Unexpected Joy: Finding True Purpose in SurrenderSample

Joyful Obedience

For many reasons, it’s not easy for Christians to obey God. If you’re reading this and you call yourself a Christian, you probably agree. At the most basic level, the sheer volume of rules and commandments in the New Testament can be overwhelming. Even if we have gained the right perspective of the rules, it’s difficult to know where to begin or how to obey everything.

Jesus taught that real “fruit” (which includes joy) is only produced when we abide in him (John 15:9-11). The Greek word that is most often translated “abide” means to stay, remain, or wait. Since John uses the word over fifty times in his writings, it’s easy to discern his intended meaning. In this case, a good working definition of “abide” is “active fellowship” or “connection.”

Active fellowship with Jesus will produce a sincere desire to obey, out of love and gratitude. If we are willfully obeying, then our connection to Jesus in a divine, loving relationship and will result in complete joy, including effective and joyful obedience. What could be better?

Here is what the apostle John wrote to a beloved friend named Gaius: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”

The first thing that is striking is the “no greater joy” part—especially for the apostle John. Really? What about seeing Jesus rise from the dead? What about the saving and sanctifying work of the Spirit? Didn’t John look after Mary the mother of Jesus after the resurrection? Apparently, whatever he meant by “children walking in the truth” was his greatest joy.

In this case, when John said “children,” he was talking about people he had led to Christ and for whom he had a deep affection. Because of his close relationship with his spiritual children, he surely wanted the best for them, and would have taught them about the impact of obedience and the wisdom of Scripture. With this understanding, let’s look more closely at the entire verse: “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth” (3 John 1:4).

The Greek word for “walking,” peripateo, in this context is more accurately translated, “walking around.” Peripateo can also mean “actively living” or “conducting one’s life.” So in this verse, John is saying that his children are gladly choosing to live their lives according to “the truth.” If their obedience was selfish, obligatory, or forced, it’s not likely John would be excited about their actions. It’s also important to note that in this case, John was not referring to a saving knowledge of the gospel when he said, “the truth.” Rather, he was talking in a general sense about the infallible and life-giving teaching of Jesus. So the source of John’s greatest joy was a group of “students” who willingly and joyfully organized their lives around Jesus.

Scripture says that if we love him, we’ll obey him out of gratitude. When we obey, we’re in an abiding relationship with Christ, which produces life-giving fruit, including joy—a joy unaffected by the difficulties we face or the culture we live in.

Something to Remember:

According to Jesus, organizing our lives around his teaching, through sincere obedience, leads to complete joy.