Complete Joy

Remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and remain in his love. (John 15:9b-10)

In a culture where people tend to fall in and out of love, these words may be very challenging. Remaining in love requires commitment, requires the ability to weather the good with the bad. Remaining in love requires that we come to the realization that my life is not about me!

Of course, that attitude is almost anathema in our Western culture. Our constant exposure to "taking care of number one" through the various media, both social and broadcast, seems to give the lie to the Christian vocation, a vocation that requires that we put others' needs before our own. The advertising world is partly responsible for the conviction that many have regarding their own happiness. "You only go around once, grab the gusto," screams a beer commercial. Unfortunately, the ad campaign misses the mark by a mile. Rather than grabbing the gusto, Jesus would have us carry the cross.

Despite the fact that many people of our culture have accepted the notion that they should tend to their needs first, the social sciences tell us that many are looking for the happiness that escapes them. Committing to a life of obedience, Jesus tells us, is the way to happiness. Shortly after he admonishes us to remain in his love, he tells us why he makes this claim: I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and your joy may be complete. (John 15:11)