Brennan Manning, in an interview for Christianity Today (”The Dick Staub Interview: Brennan Manning on Ruthless Trust,” ChristianityToday.com 12-10-02), said the following:
I believe that the real difference in the American church is not between conservatives and liberals, fundamentalists and charismatics, nor between Republicans and Democrats. The real difference is between the aware and the unaware.
When somebody is aware of that love - the same love that the Father has for Jesus - that person is just spontaneously grateful. Cries of thankfulness become the dominant characteristic of the interior life, and the byproduct of gratitude is joy. We’re not joyful and then become grateful - we’re grateful, and that makes us joyful.
The Christian story is a story built upon joy. We are – or we should be – a people who overflow with joy. This joy is not a common sort of joy. A number of simple but important things can make us happy: a great song, a fantastic piece of art, a new outfit that we look really, really great wearing, a great haircut, a good meal, a new - or even reliable - automobile, a new house, or a vacation from our regular work schedules. These are all very, very good things and they do make us happy. They are not, however, the things upon which our joy - our Christian joy - is founded. That’s a good thing too because that sort of joy - a joy derived from common things - doesn’t last very long, does it? It is temporary, at best. Things like these do make us happy, but that joy is not the byproduct of the deep gratitude Brennan Manning is referencing. The joy Brennan Manning is talking about is a byproduct of the deep gratitude that we all experience when we realize how much God loves us and when we accept God’s invitation to become integral characters in God’s story.
What is the foundation of your joy? Are common things your only source of happiness? Do you find yourself searching for a joy that continuously vanishes? Is yours a fleeting sort of joy? Or is yours a stable, consistent, and confident joy? Does your joy remain, in spite of the regular shifts and changes that this life introduces to you?
We are children of God. We are members of Jesus Christ’s Church. Our joy should be firmly rooted in these truths. The fact that we are embraced by God – and that God now calls us his own - should inspire thankfulness! It’s so easy, however, to get lost in this world we live in. It’s so easy to lose sight of the ultimate source of joy. It’s so easy to forget how very, very special the gift God has given us in Jesus Christ really is. It’s easy to forget to be thankful. Gratitude - deep thankfulness – needs to be nurtured, in a world like this one. As children of God, and members of Christ’s Church, we need to develop and nurture gratitude.
We have not been left alone to figure this out all on our own! We have the Scriptures and we have each other. Psalm 107 is, for example, a virtual guidebook for joy. This beautiful portion of scripture will help us as we help each other develop a deep attitude of gratitude together. Spend some time with this Psalm. Pray it. Return to it regularly, together. The word “together” is important too. We must embark on this developmental journey together, as redeemed members of the Body of Christ. This communal dance will lead each one of us to the deep joy and the perpetually grateful posture Brennan Manning talks about in his interview with Christianity Today. Remember, as Brennan Manning wisely says, “We’re not joyful and then become grateful - we’re grateful, and that makes us joyful.” Amen.
