Rejoice

We have a lot of commands in Scripture, and we get it. There are things we are supposed to do and things we are not supposed to do. So when we are commanded to "Flee immorality" (1 Cor 6:8) or "You shall not murder" (Exo 20:13), we get it. These are choices we're supposed to make. As it turns out, however, there are some difficult commands simply because we don't see them as choices.

One obvious example is the command to love. "Hang on," you might think, "what makes you think we can choose who we will love?" Well, it's not my opinion. God commanded it in the Old Testament (Lev 19:18). Jesus listed it as the highest command in the New Testament (Matt 22:37-38). Based solely on the "opinions" of God the Father and God the Son, I'd say it must be so. Apparently, then, we're misunderstanding "love" in this context. This "love" is not our "warm affection" concept; it's something else, something more. It is the constant desire for the best for the one you are loving. It is sacrificial and sometimes, even in our own version, "tough." So it is not a command to feel warmly toward others, but to consider others as more important than yourself and to seek their good, even over your own comfort.

A more difficult example, I think, is the command, "Rejoice!" Yes, that's a command. And not a small one. Israel was repeatedly commanded to "rejoice before the Lord your God" (e.g., Lev 23:40; Deut 12:18; Deut 27:7). In the New Testament, it's just as important. Jesus said, "Rejoice and be glad" (Matt 5:12). When? "When people insult you and persecute you" (Matt 5:11). Paul told the Philippians that he was bing "poured out as a drink offering" (Php 2:17) and told them, "You, too, rejoice in the same way" (Php 2:18). In fact, "rejoice" was a key phrase in that epistle. "Rejoice in the Lord," he told them (Php 3:1) and later, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" (Php 4:4). Sounds like Paul had a message he wanted them to get. He told the Thessalonians the same thing. "Rejoice always" (1 Thess 5:16). James wrote, "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance" (James 1:2-3). Apparently "rejoice" means something different than "feel happy," right? Maybe not so much if you consider what "happy" is. Happiness, the dictionary tells me, is "a state of well-being and contentment." It is the conviction that I am in a good place. And Paul said, "I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am" (Php 4:11). How? "Through Him who strengthens me" (Php 4:13). By looking at my circumstances from the perspective of the loving, wise, good God who "works all things after the counsel of His will" (Eph 1:11). If I can see all things as His work and His gift, then I can be "happy" even in discomfort. Paul saw a "thorn in the flesh" as a gift from God and was "well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ's sake" (2 Cor 12:7-10). Rejoicing. Always.

I read recently that "rejoice" was a common greeting among believers back in those days. We use "hello" and "goodbye" and they used "rejoice." (Does anyone really know what "hello" even means anymore?) We are repeatedly commanded to rejoice. Always. Even in trials. That's possible only if we have a sovereign and loving God who knows what's best for us and always provides it. I would suggest that it doesn't come naturally and we could always use reminders. Maybe I'll take up that old traditional greeting, at least for fellow believers.