A Joyful Religion
"And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away." -- Isaiah 35:10
There are those who make religion out as opposed to the happy, gleeful, playful, joyful side of life. Such a notion is a travesty upon religion. Indeed, it is a travesty upon God. Our God is a happy God. Our Christ is a happy Christ. He came to stop sighing, but not to stop singing; to drive away tears, but not to drive away smiles. "They shall come to Zion," says Isaiah, "with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads."
The popular notion that religion is a melancholy affair does not harmonise with the ideal of beauty and brightness reflected in the handiwork of God. Since God has covered the whole face of nature with so much brightness, I am sure He delights to see brightness upon the faces of His children. Never should we try to advertise the fact that we are the children of God by wearing a gloomy and melancholy face. When we do that we advertise God as a Being who loves gloomy and ugly things. But is that true? Look at the radiant orbs that gem the brow of night. Look at the sun sinking behind a bank of clouds, painting them with purple and fancy pictures of golden glory. Look at the lilies, the violets, the roses, and the carnations which cover the bosom of the earth. I say it is not true. God is not a Being who loves gloomy and ugly things. Away with the notion that religion is a melancholy affair. If you are a child of God, let your countenance reflect the brightness and gladness we see flaming and flashing upon the face of nature.
I believe in a religion that can laugh as well as cry. It is all right to cry. There is nothing prettier in the house of God than a tear. But there is nothing ugly in laughter. Some people seem to feel that there is something malefic in humour, that laughter partakes of the nature of sin, but that is foreign to the religion Christ taught. Christ is not opposed to the pleasurable things of life. Indeed, the purest pleasures and the sweetest joys are to be found through association with Christ and His people. Isaiah saw in Zion a highway, and to all who walk there the promise is, "They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."
