Portable Joy

"These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:11

When Jesus called His first followers, He said “Follow Me.”  Discipleship with Jesus was portable.  Not portable in the sense of being smaller or less, but portable as in moveable,  suitable to travel  and adaptation.  Christianity began in sandals and on the move.

True discipleship with Jesus continues to be moveable, suitable to travel and adaptable when it remains word and hearing based instead of environmental based.  Word and hearing based discipleship is about hearing Jesus well wherever  I am. Environmental discipleship is about creating satisfying Christian environments that support our Christian joy.  For true joy,  we must choose word based discipleship over environmental  based  discipleship.  To go with Jesus, we must go with  portable joy.  He did.

The history of the Christian church during the past 2000 years has often been a battle between  hearing and enjoying Jesus as we move through life or well meaning attempts to create  Christian environments that guarantee our Christian joy.  

There have been Christian nations, Christian churches, Christian monasteries, Christian denominations and Christian leaders.  All of them visible and able to bring some joy to those who have  built them and died to defend them.  Even so, none of them produced  the lasting and full joy Jesus describes.   Why?  They are not word  and hearing based.  They are not portable.  They are based on the visible for joy.  The joy they produce, though real,  does not travel well in a world where the visible is always temporary.

The brilliance of Jesus’ method of producing joy by His words is astounding.  As long as I can hear His words, I can travel  through life with His full joy.  Now that the Spirit of Christ dwells in me I am the temple of the Holy Spirit and that means the words of Jesus travel in me if I will hear them spoken to me for joy.

I challenge you to develop the habit of growing very quiet and ask the Holy Spirit to bring you some word from Jesus.  Some word from Jesus will come to you and along with that word comes joy if you will hear it and abide in it.    As you hear Him, your joy becomes portable and unthreatened by environmental  change.  In fact, you acutally become the portable joy of Jesus.  You become Christianity with shoes on.

I am old enough now to have seen some very joyful expressions of visible Christianity come and go.  I miss them.  I am also old enough to have traveled far enough with Jesus to say that His words are my enduring joy.  I have my shoes on and my joy is not missing.

While enjoying the visible that the invisible joy can produce from time to time,  remember  to keep your spiritual shoes (sandals) on and your ears open to His voice.  Go portable even if you are going to a beautiful church and led by a great leader.