It is not surprising to anyone who knows me that Bruce Springsteen has found his way into an Uplift, the only wonder, perhaps, is that it took a year. The connection is joy. “Christian Joy” specifically. The concept of Christian Joy is not easy to understand, let alone internalize. I’ve been thinking about it. Scripture says it resides in a believer regardless of earthly circumstances- unbearable pain, imprisonment, terminal illness, heartbreak. It is a way of being that flows from the inside out: trusting God in faith that there is a divine purpose in whatever befalls us. I have known a few folks with this lightness of being. One beloved, from my church, radiated an abiding Christ-centered joy over the 30 years I worshiped alongside her, despite a life filled with her share of physical pain and anguish. Most people who knew her would say the same. There have been one or two others, who I have witnessed manage persistent trials in their lives with persistent faith.
Bruce Springsteen and Christian Joy
Bruce Springsteen and Christian Joy
Bruce Springsteen and Christian Joy
It is not surprising to anyone who knows me that Bruce Springsteen has found his way into an Uplift, the only wonder, perhaps, is that it took a year. The connection is joy. “Christian Joy” specifically. The concept of Christian Joy is not easy to understand, let alone internalize. I’ve been thinking about it. Scripture says it resides in a believer regardless of earthly circumstances- unbearable pain, imprisonment, terminal illness, heartbreak. It is a way of being that flows from the inside out: trusting God in faith that there is a divine purpose in whatever befalls us. I have known a few folks with this lightness of being. One beloved, from my church, radiated an abiding Christ-centered joy over the 30 years I worshiped alongside her, despite a life filled with her share of physical pain and anguish. Most people who knew her would say the same. There have been one or two others, who I have witnessed manage persistent trials in their lives with persistent faith.