{"id":10025,"date":"2010-11-04T06:28:46","date_gmt":"2010-11-04T06:28:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2010\/11\/04\/giantjoy\/"},"modified":"2010-11-04T06:28:46","modified_gmt":"2010-11-04T06:28:46","slug":"giantjoy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/giantjoy\/","title":{"rendered":"Giant Joy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I<\/strong> watched the end of the World Series last night. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and it has been transformed for a few short days by nine men running around a field. People are nice to each other. Strangers aren’t strangers. “Did you see the game? How about those Giants?”<\/p>

Fathers and sons have something to talk about. Attitudes are brighter. There are more smiles per square foot.<\/p>

But all that is nothing to what happened on the field when the last out was recorded. Grown men with dyed beards jumped around like they were nine years old, looking for someone—anyone—to hug.<\/p>

And I thought about worship.<\/p>

The thing is, when the Giants won, nobody scripted the celebration. They didn’t plan out who would jump where. Nobody worried about what chants they would chant or what music they would play in the clubhouse.<\/p>

If they had not celebrated, the rocks would have cried out.<\/p>

I think our problem is that we are not really sure that Jesus won.<\/p>

We are not really confident what a good God God is.<\/p>

I think we need to spend less time trying to craft services and music and experiences that will compel people to respond emotionally, and more time teaching people how to live in the reality of a God and a resurrection that will lead automatically, inevitably, to gratitude and joy—as inevitably as Brian Wilson getting the 27th out.<\/p>

So:\n\n—take some time to think about what a good God God is.\n\t\n—Imagine what the disciples did when they discovered that Jesus really was<\/em> resurrected; that death was history, that guilt was toast.\n\t\n—Take some time to reflect on what it will be like when you enter into eternity.\n\t\n—Then, since eternity is already in session, go ahead and get in on it now.<\/p>

Copyright © 2010 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal.Click here<\/a> for reprint information on Leadership<\/em> Journal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I watched the end of the World Series last night. I live in the San Francisco Bay area, and it has been transformed for a few short days by nine men running around a field. People are nice to each other. Strangers aren’t strangers. “Did you see the game? How about those Giants?”Fathers and sons Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[2030],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154,165],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3646,3921,4067,4134,4303,4506,5305],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-10025","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-john-ortberg","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-community-life","tax_ctp_tags-experiencing-god","tax_ctp_tags-god","tax_ctp_tags-heaven","tax_ctp_tags-joy","tax_ctp_tags-music","tax_ctp_tags-worship"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nGiant Joy - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What we want is not joy. 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