The Christian Life is a Delighted Life

Concluding my script for a recent message on 2 Timothy 2:3-8

One of my historical heroes is Jonathan Edwards, the great New England preacher of the 18th century. Edwards was not only and incredible preacher, but also a very quotable author. He once said that we should do everything we can in this life to obtain as much joy, as much delight, as possible in the next. Look at verse 6 with me.

What was life like for farmers in the first century? It was tough. Long hours, hard work, little visible reward most of the time. That sounds like the Christian life sometimes doesn’t it? We pray, and nothing seems to happen. We share the Gospel, and no one gets saved. we invite to church, and no one comes. Just like the farmer looking at his crop, after all the sowing all the watering he sees little growth, he wonders if his hard work is worth it. And so do we sometimes, if we’re honest. There’s so little growth in our family, in our Sunday school class, in ourselves, we wonder why we keep doing it.

Until, harvest time. One day the farmer wakes up and looks out, and his field is full of crops! There is his reward, the harvest that he has labored so long for has come, and he is delighted in it.
The same is true for us, as all three of these word pictures come together. If we are dedicated, if we are directed then we will be delighted, then we will enjoy a spiritual harvest that we can’t even imagine now. One day we’ll see Jesus face to face, and all our struggles will seem worth it in this life. Meeting Jesus isn’t something that makes us shrug our shoulders and say ‘it’s ok.’ Meeting Jesus will just about make our hearts explode for joy. In fact, unless we were held up by His grace meeting Jesus would simply overwhelm us. It will be worth it.

But maybe you think it’s different for Paul, you can understand his focus on Heaven given that his life was nearly over. But this truth, this final delight was what had kept Paul faithful throughout his life. In his letter to the Philippians he tells them that it would be better for him to go and be with Jesus, but for their sake, for the sake of his ministry to them, he has to stay. Paul knows that whether he is alive or not, Christ will be glorified. Paul knows that all his dedication in hardship and all his faithful directedness will pay off. And you and I are in exactly the same situation. We have to keep our eyes on the delight. That is our reward. As we suffer hardship, be dedicated because you will be delighted. As we follow direction, no matter how hard or counter cultural it seems, be well directed, because of the delight that will come at the end.
Dedicated like a soldier, directed like an athlete, and delighted like a farmer at harvest time, these are the three Ds of the Christian life.