Fun Vs Joy

Fun Vs Joy

I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete (V.11).

John 15:7-11

Reading

This world offers “[brief] pleasures” (HEB. 11:25), but Jesus offers to give us full and lasting joy (JOHN 15:11). Pleasure, or fun, depends on what we’re doing and who we’re with. But joy is a way of life that we can have even on bad days—because it relies on Jesus, not us.

Fun is always changing, but joy lasts forever! The good times we have are often followed by boring or unhappy days. True joy is found in knowing Jesus Christ, who is “the same yesterday and today and for ever” (HEB. 13:8). To keep having fun, we must go from one thing to another, always meeting up with friends or doing something to stop it running out. Joy is just the opposite. It is a gift God gives us.

Pleasure and fun are built on looking out for ourselves, but joy is based on loving God and looking out for His people. The more we try to make ourselves feel good, the emptier we end up. A moment of happiness today is soon gone tomorrow, meaning we’re left needing to top up our ‘buzz’ again. Joy, however, is based on giving ourselves to God and His ways. As we learn what it means to focus on the needs of others, we find greater satisfaction in God Himself, who meets our every need and gives us lasting joy.

Thinking it Over…

How would you explain the difference between “fun” and “joy”? What do you think it means to have joy during the bad days?

FOR JOY THAT WILL LAST, ALWAYS PUT JESUS FIRST.

Youth Edition – Our Daily Bread Ministries