Our three month old just did something dramatic and profound. I don't want to be one of those out of touch "the whole world revolves around what my child just did" dads, but I have to tell you about it. I just have to!
She smiled at me when I said good morning to her.
It is hard not to smile when an infant smiles. It seems like everything else that is on our minds melts away when she looks into our eyes and notices (happily) that we are there. There is something that wells up in us, and takes over everything else we are feeling, and we smile back at her!
It is hard not to smile back at her.
Remember what Dallas Willard said: "True Christlikeness, true companionship with Christ, comes at the point where it is hard not to respond as he would." (Spirit of the Disciplines, 8)
One thing that is startling about Jesus is that he was invited to the party. He was welcomed to weddings and to dinner parties. Oftentimes, when he left a people or a town there was "much rejoicing." (Think of a once-lame man going from standing for the first time in his life to leaping and praising God!) The Man of Sorrows also lived in joy!
Though we are living in days where parties are not welcomed and the uncertainty in our lives can weigh our hearts down, we can follow Jesus' lead into celebration joy. Though it is a deliberate act on our part to celebrate, it flows from Jesus' deliberate heart to share his joy with us!