This past Monday, we were invited to have lunch with Kazuko, one of our English students. We drove to her house along with Keiko (another student who is also a Christian). As we talked, we discussed how both of us had had somewhat difficult weeks and commented on how we were looking forward to having lunch with Kazuko because she is one of those people who laughs easily and is a joy to be around. The lunch was delicious (Kazuko has also worked as a professional cook) and a lot of fun.

Later, I pondered our discussion in the car: three Christians feeling uplifted from being around someone who is not a Christian. Hopefully Kazuko enjoyed being with us as much as we did with her, but the somewhat backwardness of it really struck me. As Christians we should be the ones bringing joy into others lives. We are called to serve others and we are called to share the true source of ultimate joy – the message of the Gospel, but we should also be just plain fun people. Because we are children of God, our lives should be filled and overflowing with joy. We should laugh often, have fun easily, and put people at ease when they are around us.

I remember the unsaved husband of one of the women in the church telling me that he was okay with his wife going to church because she always came home happier than when she left. Is that true of your church? What about you personally? Do people enjoy being around you? Is it obvious to the non-Christians around you that your life is filled with joy?

Pray for us as we live out the Gospel message amongst our Japanese friends and contacts. Pray that our lives would be filled with joy even amidst difficult or tiring circumstances.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, August 31st, 2011 at 21:19 and is filed under Thoughts & Musing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.