Joy

Have you ever experienced joy? Not the delight you feel when you receive an unexpected gift. Nor even the pleasure you get from reading a favorite book or watching a favorite movie. But real honest to goodness joy, the kind that is mixed with longing and even a tinge of sadness. Where it seems that the moment will and should go on forever, but melts away just before you fully grasp it. It leaves you wanting more, but in a strangely good kind of way. It gives you a hint of something wonderful, something more, some thing wholly satisfying. We are given a chance to see what lies ahead, but only for a moment before the curtain falls again, leaving us in the dark.
Joy, on this earth at least, will never bring complete satisfaction. Joy on earth is a glimpse of heaven, a chance to feel, if only for a moment, what it is like to stand in the presence of the Almighty God. While Joy leaves us with a sense of sadness, it also leaves us hope. The hope of our salvation, and the hope to one day see our Savior face to face. Come quickly Lord Jesus!