Col 1:1-8 / Lk 4:38-44
There are lots of things in God’s good world that should give us considerable joy: A sunset, a tranquil pond on a hot summer day, a delicate flower, a new-born infant’s tiny hand. And there are lots things of our own making that should bring us joy as well: a new idea, a job well done, a thriving summer garden, a perfect score on a test, a financial coup brilliantly planned.
But beyond nature’s joys and the ones we’ve made for ourselves, there’s another, special kind of joy that some of us may not have experienced yet. It’s the joy of seeing someone else succeed or get better or triumph in some way or other. St. Paul is telling his friends the Colossians about this very thing in today’s epistle. In effect he says, "You folks are growing up in the Lord so beautifully that it fills my heart full! For me to see your progress is the best gift anyone could give me!"
That’s real maturity of soul, and it’s where all of us want to get, because that’s where the real joy is, in transcending our own narrow agendas and getting to share and participate in everybody’s joys. To do that, however, we have to get rid of that little voice that whispers, "There may not be enough for me AND them, so I’ll just have to get mine and forget about them."
There’s enough, and when we start seeing the world through God’s eyes, we’ll know that, we’ll relax in the Lord, and we’ll experience the triumphs of every one of God’s people as if they were our own — just as he does. And what a joy that will be!
