Some time back I heard an individual talking about a certain group of Christians and they described them with these sad words: “They never smile.”
Now, to be fair, I’m sure those people smile sometimes! And, the truth is that all of us have days when the pressures of life weigh us down. But the words stayed with me. They convicted me! What do people think of my Christ from what they see on my countenance?
A generation of young people are growing up in a miserable world – they certainly don’t need a miserable Christianity! I am not lobbying for some shallow, surface emotion. G. Campbell Morgan said, “Painted fire never burns and an imitated enthusiasm is the most empty thing that can possible exist…” God deliver us from hiding behind the facade of a fake smile. But, don’t you think the joy of Jesus should be so great that it would show on us from time to time?
Only a revived people have real joy. It is not something you work up; it is put in you by the Holy Spirit. When that fruit of the Spirit begins to be produced in your heart it will surely be seen in your life.
There is nothing more attractive than a happy Christian and nothing more dangerous than a faith that is doctrinally right but practically miserable. May it never be said of us that we never smile! “A merry heart maketh a cheerful countenance…” (Proverbs 15:13). Choose joy and the Lord will use it as a testimony to others.
