GOD I GOT NOTHING

“Now godliness with contentment is great gain.”  I suppose we all have our own definition of godliness, mine plays off the idea of piety and devotion toward God that is both an attitude and a manner of life: Worship rightly directed, manifested in conversation, conduct, sacrifice and prayer. Or perhaps we should just say exhibiting the character and nature of Christ.  When we add contentment, spiritual equilibrium in the midst of both favorable and adverse circumstances, to our godliness God promises great gain... gain beyond our expectations. Now some suppose this gain to be some physical, tangible blessing we will really enjoy, but God’s new covenant promises rarely invoke physical blessings since He has already prepared a place for us -- inconceivably grand to our puny earth-bound minds – and glorified bodies that will defy the laws of physics -- for our eternal enjoyment. He seems to think this is enough. God’s word does focus on conditions of the heart and matters of the spiritual realm, for He is actively engaged in inputting His nature into us.

That considered I believe the great gain from the marriage of godliness and contentment is Joy, the second fruit of God’s Spirit. This Joy of the Holy Spirit is calm delight... peace with a smile, based in the sure knowledge of our two-fold position in Christ. First, we are... this very moment, seated in the heavenlies with our Lord. How this works is a mystery known only to God, but our human spirit in union with the Spirit of God is in Christ, who is seated at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. This is our spiritual position... our spiritual unity with the Godhead during earth-life. Second, we have the Blessed Hope in our Lord’s soon return to fetch us home ... to be with Him forever. This is our physical position... a life of expectant hope in our physical reunion with the Godhead... soon... in the twinkling of an eye. The reality of our two-fold position in Christ brings Joy... Joy which never needs to strain beyond itself... Joy that is strengthening.

Mere mortals tend to confuse God’s Joy with happiness, but happiness is the result of a pleasant “happening”, a gift, a kind word, a new toy, some event that momentarily strokes our nature.  Like a sharp knife on sheetrock or a new pair of shoes worn in the rain, happiness all too quickly wears out and is gone in a twinkling of an eye, waiting for another “happening” to fleetingly appear. It’s just the finicky way we are wired. But the indescribable Joy of the Lord just gets better and better as we learn to find our true happiness in Him. A five year old was asked by her mother during bedtime prayer if she wanted to tell God anything. Having just listened to her mother’s petitions for their needs she responded “God, I got nothing.” A five year old does not understand delayed gratification but God’s saints should. We have the elixir of the Holy Spirit as a down payment, a sure guarantee that our Lord will return for us and take us home to be eternally with Him. God we got everything... we got Your Son!