What brings you absolute joy?
It might be a walk in the woods. Dinner with close friends. A warm bath in a peaceful house. A great meal. Something entirely different?
Think of what John is writing about here -- they've touched, with their own hands, the manifest word of life that brings eternal life. It's an astounding thing that the church has witnessed, something that would bring joy and elation to millions today if they could have the same relation to it that John has.
And yet the joy isn't complete until it's shared.
What a wondrous perspective to have -- that community is required to have complete joy. It's not possible to have complete joy unless there are others who share in it! This echoes the picture we see of God in Scripture -- that God is relational, constantly engaged in an eternal dance between Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Through the power and love of Christ, we are invited into that dance!!!! And so, we're encouraged and commissioned to invite others around us into that same dance, into the same relationship of mutual love, that the dance may grow, and along with it, our joy may be complete!
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