I recently preached on the words of Christ to His faithful servants on the last day, “Enter into the joy of thy Lord.” This text, among other things, opens up a window into the joy, the happiness, or what some biblical texts speak of as the “blessedness of God” (Rom. 9:5, 1 Tim. 1:11, 6:15). It is the joy of the Lord.
God is the self-sufficient One, who enjoys true happiness in and of Himself. One Swiss Reformed theologian, Benedict Pictet (1655-1724) said of God, “Who would not call God happy, who is in need of nothing, finds comfort in himself, and possesses all things; is free from all evil and filled with all good?”
When Christ speaks to the believer on the last day and ushers him with open arms into “the joy of the Lord,” He is welcoming that believer into the full participation of God’s happiness – at least as far as a creature can possibly sustain in the narrow limits of his being. What a grand thought. God wants to share His joy!
Are you, friend, truly happy? Can you be happy without the blessed God? Come to Him, then, through Christ – through whom He lavishly pours out joy “unspeakable and full of glory.”
The Reformed Parish 