Future Self: Teen Zine vol. 5, part 3, Chapter 2: joy—beyond imagination
Juliette Alvey
The book of Philippians is my favorite place to go when I think about the topic of “joy,” because it is the letter where Paul writes the famous words, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say it: Rejoice!” (Phil 4:4). I marvel at these words because as Paul wrote them, he was in chains. It causes me to wonder how he could have any joy at all under such terrible circumstances.
Maybe we can find a clue about Paul’s state of mind by looking a little closer at the origin of the word “rejoice.” This word in Greek has its root in both the word χαρά, which means joy, and the word χάρις meaning grace. I do not believe it is a coincidence that both words are behind the concept of rejoicing, for it is only because of grace that we can have joy. Paul also writes to the Philippians, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things” (Phil 3:8). It is only the joy of knowing Christ that makes it possible to rejoice when we have “lost all things.”
How can we “rejoice in the Lord always” and teach our teens to do the same?
When we ask teens to consider their futures, we ironically encourage them to think very seriously about what will make them happy. To be honest, that is what I want most for my own children, for them to be happy… so much so that I sometimes try to shield them too much from difficult things. But Paul’s words remind us that the ease or difficulty of life is not what brings true joy.
The Future Self Zine explains it this way:
“Joy is not the same as happiness… Happiness is a feeling that comes and goes depending on the moment. Joy is much bigger and deeper. There is no guarantee of happiness in our future. Life is full of emotional ups and downs. But joy is always available, that sense of wonder and meaning and belonging to something larger than yourself. Joy is eternal” (p. 40).
Paul was a living example of the type of joy we are talking about here. Does that mean he never felt sad or frustrated or angry? Of course not! But here’s the thing: those emotions cannot coexist with happiness, but they can coexist with deep joy that comes from knowing Christ.
My friend has a tattoo on the inside of her forearm that says, “Choose Joy.” More than a fashion statement, this tattoo is for her own benefit… to remind her that, no matter what is happening in her life, she is covered by the grace of Jesus, and that means she is covered by the source of all joy.
One day, my friend, who works in the school district helping out students who need one-on-one attention throughout the school day, was dealing with a student who was getting very upset and physically violent. In the process of trying to calm the student down, my friend accidentally fell back and landed on her arm. Her arm was broken and required surgery. Because of that incident, her “Choose Joy” tattoo now has a big scar right through the middle of it.
Somehow I feel that the tattoo now has an even deeper meaning. There may be a scar running through it, but joy is still present. It shows that the joy that comes from Christ can survive our suffering. Just as Jesus revealed his scars to the disciples after he rose from the dead, our scars, though still present, can never take away the joy of the life given to us by our risen savior.
This kind of joy is not scared away by suffering or by our constantly fluctuating emotions. It is a gift which surrounds us like the air we breathe.
