LEARNING TO BE GAY

"Rejoice in the Lord always: I will say again: Rejoice!" (Philippians 4: 4)

Joy is one of the characteristics of the presence of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22). Sadness is important to life, as well as the pain and other undesirable aspects that surround us. I believe that a life without any sadness is not possible in view of an unstable world in which we are exposed and vulnerable, being we sinners and subject to error, even when we wish to get it right! And even if something bad never happened to us, how could we escape the sadness of seeing the sadness of the other, especially those who love and are close to us? It is precisely because life is so the apostle tells us: rejoice in the Lord!

God came to bring back the possibility of we rejoice, though! We must learn about this joy and practice it, enjoy it. God, better than us, knows that we can be reached by pain and can be deceived by false joys. That is why He came to us full of grace and truth (John 1:14). His purpose was not to come to leave us a set of rules, so that by observing them we could live safe and happy. He came to give himself to us. Came and stayed! He did not stay in some sacred places so we could visit him eventually, if necessary. He came and made of us, of our life, His dwelling place! Something incomprehensible to us, but this is our salvation: God united us to himself through Christ. And that changes everything.

We need to learn to rejoice in God. For this we need to recognize His love for us and to devote time to our relationship with Him. We need to go beyond the formalities of the usual prayers. Of the words repeated and almost meaningless as there are are uttered automatically. We need to learn to pray calmly, with the soul, and to speak out what really represents us. We must tell the truth, or say everything until the truth appears. We must recognize the unsurpassable value of Jesus' death as proof of God's love for us. And not to doubt God when evil strikes us or He does not fulfill our requests. And so, learning to rejoice in God, who loves us and is with us! Insofar as we know this joy, we will know how to live, overcome and learn from our sorrows. And life will be another life for us.

Baptist Church Praia do Campo