Joy is our gift and our birthright. And it’s something we must also cultivate. All too often we’ve allowed our hearts to harden under the demands of duty and responsibility that relishing the delights in life and celebrating its many joys seem foreign. Like the older brother in the parable of the lost son, we remain outside of the feast while our younger brother and father celebrate inside. But it’s our own heart and our refusal to cultivate joy that keeps us outside.
To be sure, we will harvest what we plant. And we cannot expect good things to grow if we don’t take the time to plow the land and plant the good. This requires us to address the hardness of our hearts first.
When our life is one of mere duty and demand then we become as slaves in God’s kingdom rather than sons. This was the sin of the older brother. And, on the one hand, this makes us cynical of joy. Joy seems like the irresponsible pleasures of our young brother and unbecoming of one who takes his responsibilities in life seriously. At the same time, part of us resents how freely others seem to enjoy life even when they don’t work as hard as we do.
Plowing our heart starts with recognizing and remembering our true identity as God’s sons. This might require us to slow down enough to feel life again, as we also confront the lie that spiritual maturity simply means following the rules and doing what we’re supposed to do. There is work to be done, but this does not exclude joy.
We must then intentionally plant seeds of delight, such as: gratitude, celebration, beauty, play, rest, friendship, and even meaningful work. These are not luxuries, but the seeds needed to bring a harvest of joy.
If our life currently lacks joy then we must consider what field we’ve been cultivating instead. Because it remains true that we will harvest what we plant.
