Splendor and majesty go before him; power and rejoicing are in his holy place. Give to the Lord, you families of nations, give to the Lord glory and might; give to the Lord the glory due his name!

1 Chr 16:27-29

The very essence, the very strength of God is the love and joy that dwell in his holy place. However, we don’t always communicate that joy and thus fail to worship him properly. Some people have walked away from Christianity precisely because it seemed to be completely opposite of joy. Christianity seemed to be about rule keeping or obligations or all about morality or opposing certain behaviors, but the idea of it being about joy never entered the picture.

As Christians, we should act more as thermostats than as thermometers. When you act like a thermometer, you are simply going to reflect the environment you are part of. If people are joyful, then you will be joyful too. If people complain, are in a bad mood and become sullen, you become sullen too.

Acting like a thermostat, however, means that you set the temperature in a room, in a house, in an environment. You set the tone with your attitude. The Gospel is full of joy and as a Christian you need to communicate this joy through your life.

Lord Jesus, I want to worship you properly. Liberate me from any inclination to be sullen. Help me to act like a thermostat that brings joy into a room. May your joy flow through me to others.