Sorrow Will Turn Into Joy

“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.” (John 16:16-22 ESV)

Jesus Christ was speaking to his disciples, and he was letting them know that he was soon to leave them, and that he would be going back to the Father. But then he said that it was to their advantage that he go away, for if he did not go away, the Helper (the Holy Spirit) would not come to them. And why was this so important? Well, just from a very practical standpoint, the more people who believed in Jesus the harder it would be for Jesus to be with them all in person. But by sending his Spirit to indwell his followers, he could be with all his followers at all times and in all places via the Spirit.

And then he told them that “when the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-15 ESV).

So, when Jesus Christ was crucified on that cross for our sins, and thus when he died our sins died with him, so that we might now die to sin and live to his righteousness, the plan all along was for him to be raised from the dead on the third day, after which he appeared to many people, including to his disciples, for a period of 40 days, I believe, before he ascended back to heaven to be with God the Father. So, his followers did see him again for a very short period of time, but we will all see him one day when he returns for his faithful followers to take us to be with him for eternity.

In the meanwhile, by God-ordained, God-gifted, and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we have the Holy Spirit living within us guiding us in all truth, reminding us of all that Jesus taught, and leading us in the ways of holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. He is God with us, living within us. So this is God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – living within us in the person of the Spirit. So Christ is in us if we are in Christ by dying with him to sin and being raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, not as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to righteousness.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-24; Titus 2:11-14; Luke 9:23-26]

But we still live in flesh bodies. And Jesus told his followers that their persecutors would put them out of the synagogues. And he said that a time was coming when whoever kills them would think that he was offering service to God (example Saul/Paul). But he said that they would do these things because they have not known Jesus nor the Father. And he said to all of us that we will be hated as he was hated and that we will be treated wrongfully as he was treated by his enemies. And so we will grieve, and we will long for our heavenly home and to be with our Lord for eternity.

So, right now we are suffering for the sake of the name of Jesus and for the sake of his gospel and for the sake of righteousness and because we live on this earth in flesh bodies. So right now we may be sorrowful, and we may weep, but one day our sorrow will be turned into joy when our Lord returns for his faithful bride and when he takes us to be with him for eternity. And at that time our salvation will be complete, and not until then. So while we wait, we are to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives (Titus 2:11-14).

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg 

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