Sounding joy: All joy through God

‘Make a joyful shout to God all the earth! God is the source of all joy’ (Psalm 66.1).

I’m a glass half full person. I find joy in most things but, there is a joy I experience every day from my dog Barney.

There is a joke I’ve heard about man who puts his wife, mother-in-law, and dog in the trunk of his car and drives around for an hour.  At the end of his drive, he opens the trunk. Who is glad to see him? The dog!

Every day when I come home from work or play, I open the back door and there, waiting on the step by the door, is my dog Barney waiting to greet me. Barney explodes with joy, jumping, dancing, and barking with all his might to greet me. In his way, saying ‘I love and have missed you. Welcome home!’

Now, Barney will do this if I have been gone a week, a day, or just a few minutes taking out the trash – it doesn’t matter to him – he just wants to be with me. Barney gets his joy being with me no matter if I’ve been gone a long time or a few minutes. His love and joy are unconditional. In many ways, Barney’s love is like Christ’s, whose love is also unconditional.

God’s joy comes when we spend time with him. It doesn’t matter if we have been away a few minutes, a week, or years. He is still waiting with joy and unconditional love for us.

So, this advent season, seek out God in nature and explode and shout out joyfully to all the earth, because Christ is coming for all of us, and all joy comes through God.

Pat Baldwin moved to Davenport almost two years ago from Tulsa to manage WHBF-Channel 4 and KLJB Fox 18 Tv stations. He is a greeter on Sundays at 9am. He has a son Jake (age 34) and a girlfriend Nancy.