I recently finished this short book by Piper (123 pages) and definitely recommend it. Piper writes 13 devotionals on different aspects of Christ not just to know or "see" Him but to "savor" Him. My favorite was the chapter entitled "The Indestructible Joy."
Piper writes, "Jesus Christ is the happiest being in the universe. His gladness is greater than all the angelic gladness of heaven. He mirrors perfectly, the infinite, holy, indomitable mirth of his Father." But Christ was not merely carefree in some trite or glib manner as if He had never experienced difficulty. He was also "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief (Isa 53:3)...who wept with those who wept (John 11:35)...He was hungry (Matt 4:2), weary (John 4:6), forsaken (Matt 26:56), betrayed (Matt 26:45), whipped (Matt 27:26), mocked (Matt 27:31), and crucified (Matt 27:35)...Indomitable joy does not mean there is only joy."
So how does Jesus balance joy and sorrow? Piper writes, "Through the agonies of Gethsemane and Golgotha, Jesus was sustained by indestructible joy. 'For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, despising the shame' (Heb 12:2). And what was that all-sustaining gladness? It was the gladness of receiving worship from those He died to make glad in God. The Good Shepherd rejoices over one lost sheep (Matt 18:13). How much more over countless armies of the ransomed!" What a privilege it is to worship!
And Piper also writes, "Is there a lesson here for how we should suffer? Have you ever noticed that we are not only to imitate the Lord's suffering, but the Lord's joy in it? Paul said to the Thessalonians, 'You became imitators...of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit' (1 Thess 1:6). It was the joy of the Lord in affliction that filled this young church."
Through tribulations, persecutions, suffering, difficulties, sacrifice, and trials, may we all find indestructible joy in our Savior. Boy, do I need to improve in this area.
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