Got joy? Want some? I can tell you how to have it...FOREVER.

First let's get something clear. Joy is not the same as happiness. I can have joy in my life and still not be a happy camper. Sometimes things go bad. A tree falls on my house. My computer dies. I do something wrong (purely hypothetical). I may not be happy, but I still have joy.

How? Because while it may be my life, it isn't my joy. Confused? Let me explain.

At the Last Supper, Jesus shared something incredible. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. John 15:9-11

Jesus knew what awaited Him and wasn't happy about it. Yet He spoke of joy. The word is chara---a great, calm delight resulting from something exceptionally good and satisfying. But He would soon die a horrible death. What was so good and satisfying as to cause such delight?

The days were dark but the Father's love stood strong, filling the Son to overflowing. This love was the source of Jesus' joy and He wanted His friends to share in it. So He explained how they, too, could have such amazing joy---Love each other as I have loved you (John 15:12b).

Loving each other means giving of yourself for the welfare of another. Time, effort, money, clothes, food, shelter, a listening ear, a friendly word. Jesus made it simple. To have real, lasting joy---His joy---we must love others. We must become givers. But not just any kind of giver.

In his letter to Corinth, Paul wrote one of the most well known and misunderstood passages in the Bible: Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7b)

God does "love" a cheerful giver, but the translated word fails to explain the depth of what Paul was saying. Here love does not refer to emotion, but to God's judgment. And this is His verdict: I find the cheerful giver morally right and utterly virtuous, one after my own heart.

And what about that cheerful part? Full of cheer, right? Not quite. This word refers to the nature of the giver. Paul said this giver's decision is clear, deliberate, without regret or guilt. Then he described the giver as hilaros---one inclined to act promptly and willingly.

God does love a cheerful giver---that man, woman or child who sees a need and make the deliberate decision to fill it. They give of themselves because they want to, not because they've been forced to. They do not hesitate. They are not sorry to lose the time, effort, money, clothes, food or shelter they have given away. They freely give with no conditions.

Cheerful givers follow Jesus' command to love others! And the result? The love of the Father and Son fills their hearts. The joy of Jesus lives in them. And their joy is complete!