The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-05-12
The JOY of Christ.

There is prevalent misconception
concerning the daily life and expe-
rience of the Lord Jesus when He
was with us. We think of Him as
the Man of Sorrows" and rightly.
"He carried our sorrows" the bur-
den of our guilt was upon Him. He
was so in sympathy with men that
their burdens and sorrows became
His. The incompleteness of charac-
ter, the hypocrisy and deceit which
met Him everywhere, the thousand
forms of iniquity which filled the
world, our guilt laid upon His soul.
did indeed fill His with sorrow; there
was no sorrow like His. 1t was
deep undercurrent that became
greater as He approached the end
seeking His blessing, we hear Him
say: my soul is exceeding sorrow.
full, even unto DEATH
But with all this His heart was
full of Joy. There was sorrow, but
there was no sadness; there was
burden, but there was no disappoint-
ment; there was the keen sense of
the guilt of sin and of the agony of
the atonement, but there was no hesi-
tation. We see the tumult, but He
speaks of my peace" His own Pc
culiar peace; we see the suffering,
but His highest wish for His dis
ciples was that my joy might re-
main in you, and that your Joy might
be full"
Suffering and happiness are not
incompatible; sorrow and Joy are not
so antagonistic that they may not
dwell in the same heart. There Is
a grace which rises above the suffer
ing, and makes 1t minister to Joy.
1t Is one of the wonderful things of
grace that 1t so lifts us up out of our
surroundings and out of ourselves,
that there is perfect peace even when
the suffering Is greatest. We have
seen the victim of disease racked with
pain whose face beamed with Joy, and
whose words were songs of praise.
The martyrs sang as they burned. So
with Jesus; at the very time when Hia
cup was filled to the overfiowing, He
talked with His disciples out of
heart perfectly at rest.
There was to Jesus the Joy of His
sinless nature. We cannot measure
that, but we may sometimes have
foretaste of 1t; there may be such
sense of pardon and of Divine love
that we are as in the presence of God,
but our highest short experience is
. far below the blessedness which was
perpetual in the soul of Jesus. To
Him there was the Joy of infinite love.
He gave Himself for others, and in
their salvation His Joy was above all
suffering. The prayer of the penitent
thief was to Him the JOY of love pre-
vailing, even over the thorns and the
nails. There to Him was the con-
seriousness of His Fathers love and
support.
He dwelt on that love. Even with
the cross before Him, in the com.
munion of the holy fellowship His
very garments shone with the glory
of God. He was mocked and scorned.
but all the time He saw His worl;
prevailing. The lame man walking.
the dumb man singing the praise of
God, the dead coming back to life,
were typical of greater work of
love in the salvation of men. He
thought of the man whose sins were
forgiven as one saved, and not simply
healed.
How great the JOY OF that hour as
He prayed. Holy Father, keep those
whom Thou hast given Mel" We can
know but little of that higher world
in which Jesus lived. for 1t is the
world of perfect holiness and infinite
love, but we see something of it; we
have something in common with Him,
SO that we can enter into His JOY
sufficiently to know that II crowned
all labor and sweetened all sorrow.
The Man of sorrows" let Him ever
be to us, but also we should open our
hearts TO receive the inflowing of His
ever-present. unbounded joy.-United
Presbyterian.