opening my eyes to joy

Chapter 17 Jesus the Christ continued...

Matthew 5:3-12
Luke 6:20-26

Some rewards come in this life and some in the next. Either way living according to Jesus' example brings joy. After watching a few people partake of worldly pleasures and shout the fun of it all, I've watched their lives crash down with terrible consequences. Because of this observation, I'm happy I made the choice to follow Jesus. No, I can't say I've done perfectly or even reasonably well at being His disciple. Nevertheless, I would rather take my consequences over those that imbibe and so forth. For the most part, I'm pretty happy.

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full," John 15:9-11.

When I was in the throws of raising children, those busy, busy times, I was too busy to count my blessings. I lamented, 'Where is all the joy?' As the trials of middle age reached their zenith, I was forced to fold or fight. My choice was to fight futility by immersing myself in gospel study. During the time since then, I've learned how to see and count blessings and miracles, opening my eyes to joy.