“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”          Galatians 5:22-23

I always feel joy when I see the beauty of a sunrise in God’s creation!

This week we are going to talk about the second “fruit of the spirit” – joy. Remember that these fruits of the spirit, or character traits, help us to become more like Jesus. Joy is a feeling of great pleasure, delight, or being very happy. Jesus loves everyone. When Jesus met people, he delighted in talking to them about God, His Father. Jesus loved and enjoyed helping people; He healed those who couldn’t see and helped to make other people feel better about themselves.

And because Jesus was doing what God wanted Him to do, He was full of joy. And if you are joyful your face can’t help but show it. Jesus must have smiled a lot when He was talking to people and helping them and showing them God’s love!

Share Joy Like Jesus

Old Mr. McCoy was the neighborhood grouch.

He would sit and frown from his front porch couch.

My goal this week is to make Mr. McCoy smile.

I had better get started, this may take a while.

 

On Sunday, after church I smiled and waved.

He looked at me, but the frown did not go away.

On Monday, a smile, a wave and a cheery greeting.

He looked at me and I saw a slight wave, but fleeting.

 

On Tuesday, after school, I took his mail with a grin.

He was surprised and thanked me, less frown, we begin.

On Wednesday, I smiled and brought cookies from mom.

We talked about family and I shared my favorite Psalm.

 

On Thursday, I smiled and waved as I headed to soccer.

Mr. McCoy smiled, waved, yelled, “Good Luck!”; a shocker!

On Friday, Mr. McCoy called to me as I stepped off the bus.

I sat on the couch and we talked about God and Jesus.

 

On Saturday, I asked Mr. McCoy to our church on Sunday.

He smiled and said he would be ready by nine the next day.

On Sunday, I smiled as I stood right next to Mr. McCoy.

Both of our faces were shining and full of God’s joy!

 

This week share the fruit of the spirit of joy with someone. Some ideas might be smiling at the new kid at school or sharing a Bible verse with a friend or spending time with someone you know who is lonely. Make sure you tell your parents about how you shared Jesus’ joy.

Let your face shine as you share your joy!