The next day there was a wedding celebration in the village of Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples were also invited to the celebration. The wine supply ran out during the festivities, so Jesus’ mother told him, “They have no more wine” (John 2:1-3 NLT).
The wedding in Cana, where Jesus performed His first miracle, was an occasion of joy at the start of His ministry.
When you consider the entire narrative of Scripture, from Genesis through Revelation, you get a sense that God loves weddings. What’s not to love? They are a celebration of love, filled with joy and hope! The greatest of which is yet to come, with the Lamb and His Bride at the Great Wedding Feast (Revelation 19:6-7).
The life of Jesus was wreathed in joy. American theologian B. B. Warfield wrote, Jesus “had joy, but it was not the shallow joy of mere pagan delight in living, nor the delusive joy of a hope destined to failure, but the deep exultation of a conqueror setting captives free. This joy underlay all His sufferings and shed its light along the whole thorn-strewn path that was trodden by His torn feet. … We hear just enough of it to assure us of its presence underlying and giving its color to all His life. If our Lord was ‘the Man of Sorrows,’ He was more profoundly still ‘the Man of Joy.’”
Our Lord and Savior was a Man of Joy!
And His joy is ours!
Writing to God’s chosen people, Peter acknowledged they rejoiced with a glorious, inexpressible joy (1 Peter 1:8). As it was then, so it is today.
Joy comes from the Lord through the Spirit as gift. It springs up from salvation and is saturated in hope.
It is a joy rooted in the gift of Jesus. That He is our King. His redemption births true joy in the redeemed. It is perpetuated by freedom from condemnation and the promise of a new creation coming. It is a joy that need not ever fain, because Jesus is ever with us throughout eternity.
Because God is with us, our hearts are glad. We can sing with the psalmist, for in His presence “there is fullness of joy” (Psalm 16:11).
Glorious Father, we greatly rejoice in the Lord; our souls exult in our God, for He has clothed us with the garments of salvation; He has covered us with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels (Isaiah 61:10). Prepare Your Bride for the wedding feast of the Lamb by filling us with joy and unwavering delight. A joy to endure all earthly sorrow, grief, pain, and trial.
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