Finding Joy in a Joyless World

[324 words] Media outlets bombard us 24 hours a day with graphic accounts of depravity in our neighborhoods, cities, and schools. Thousands of ads per day tell us we must buy stuff in order to achieve self-worth, happiness, and fulfillment. And pharmaceutical companies will gladly treat whatever ails us, for a price that many cannot afford.  It’s no wonder that people of the world feel lost, depressed, and unhappy. Their only hope of joy comes from earthly events, circumstances, or possessions, which Jesus tells us are temporary (Matt. 6-19).  As Christians, our joy is not rooted in the outcome of a golf game, a promotion, or shiny new sports car. It comes from who we are and Whose we are. It comes from personally knowing our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ through our repentance and baptism (Acts 2:38). And it comes from His resurrection that assures our Heavenly inheritance (1…