Rejoice in the Lord

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. (Philippians 4:4)

How do you express joy? By rejoicing, which is why the word is pulled up synonymously with joy in a search of passages looking for use of the word joy.

In my ninth year of education, 1990-91, I was promoted to the job of principal. What I lacked in terms of wisdom based on experience, I had advantage in tenacity of effort. I spent my days at 30 years of age considering how to build the best school possible, and ground zero for my work was the school I attended in my childhood, Cimarron Elementary in Houston's working class neighborhood near the Port of Houston.

I wrestled with everything, in terms of how we taught what we taught, who taught what, and how we created an environment for learning that was inviting but had high expectations for achievement. If you wanted to run your fingernails down the chalkboard of life with me, you would say the phrase that was becoming popular and overutilized at the time, "Learning is fun!"

Nonsense, there is nothing fun to a five-twelve-year-old boy (or girl) about coming to school, planting your butt in a chair for 5 - 6 hours a day, and doing things that are foreign to a child. Sit quietly. Listen. Do everything I tell you to do, exactly as I tell you.

I had a long discussion with a teacher once about the phrase, "Learning is fun," and she suggested I consider saying, "There is joy in learning." Bingo, I thought, that is perfect.

There is joy in learning because learning frees us from the chains of ignorance. It enables us to learn and engage in meaningful conversations about things in this life. It helps us shape thoughts by being more informed. Learning is true liberation. Yet it can be painful, not just in terms of sitting, listening and repetition, but in terms of what ignorance is being shed.

The writer of Hebrews said it this way, "For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Hebrews 12:10-11).

Learning brings joy by giving us a discipline to learn, think, and eventually do. Faith gives us joy by knowing full well the joy of the salvation of Christ.

Pray with me: Gracious Father, I rejoice at the sound of your Son's name. It brings great joy to me for the simple reason that through Him you have provided faith which frees me from the burden of sin, Satan and death. In Christ's name. Amen.