The God Who Stays: Life Looks Different With Him by Your SideSample

God Stays for the Party

I think God wants us to celebrate what He has done in our lives because He is enough. His work is enough. Jesus’ resurrection is enough. He wants us to celebrate our lives and the gifts and freedom He has given us without shame or self-consciousness. I think He wants us to approach our lives like my nephew approaches the swimming pool. Whenever Duke comes over to swim at our house, he gets so excited; it is contagious. The first time he visited, before anyone could get him changed and put his swim diaper on, he stripped down completely naked and made a break for the pool! He was so excited to swim that he couldn’t be bothered with suiting up. He was a bundle of uninhibited joy until he jumped in and learned the reality of trying to swim without his floaties! But here is a little-known truth about the West family: there is something genetic about that kind of response to a swimming pool. My parents tell a story about me when I was around my nephew’s age. When I was four years old, we lived in an apartment building with a pool. One day, my mom turned her back for a moment to find my proper swimming gear, and I was out the door in a flash, running naked and making a beeline for the pool. When she caught up with me, I was near the pool. Let’s just say the tenants in our building saw more cracks than the ones on the sidewalk that day. But there is something infectious about the people who get so overwhelmed with joy that they are fully in the moment.

I need the joy of those moments when I am overwhelmed with gratitude and present in what Jesus has done for me. You have to wonder why we don’t always live like my nephew when he sees a swimming pool. I’m not in any way suggesting we all run around naked. Nobody needs that! But you get my point. That is the type of infectious, unadulterated joy that we should have. It is about celebrating what God has done in our lives. There are plenty of Bible stories about throwing a party to celebrate God’s work, but one of my favorites is King David because it reminds me a little bit of my nephew and our naked runs to the swimming pool.

The background for this biblical party is that the ark of the covenant, which represented the presence of God for the people of Israel, was found after being lost for seventy long years. It was being brought back to Jerusalem in a big parade that King David was leading. He had been working to return the ark to the capital city and had overcome one obstacle after another to get it done. The Bible says,

“Wearing a linen ephod, David was dancing before the Lord with all his might, while he and all Israel were bringing up the ark of the Lord with shouts and the sound of trumpets” (2 Sam. 6:14–15).

Bible scholars argue about what state of dress David was really in while he was “dancing with all his might” before the Lord. Apparently, people on the scene (including the king’s first wife, Michal) thought this kind of dancing and celebration was ridiculous or undignified for the king of a nation. But David didn’t seem to care. His celebrating and dancing seemed full of joy without limits. There wasn’t anything self-conscious or dignified about it.

It seems that David was only concerned about dancing for God and was dancing around a little underdressed for a king. Regardless, the story gives the impression that he was so carried away by God’s goodness that he couldn’t control himself. It reminds me of someone in the front row of a concert who is having the time of their life. Or of a four-year-old at the pool. Or a military family seeing their loved one at the airport after a year of deployment. Or the time your parents finally saw the grandkids after quarantine. This kind of joy is an act of gratitude and worship. I want to be better at it. That is the kind of zeal I want to live with and the joy I want to display. We are forgiven and free, and that should bring us spontaneous joy!

The one thing I am learning about myself and the heart of God is that He keeps an open invitation to the kingdom, and if we are following Him, we should keep an open invitation to others. I believe God desires eternal joy for every one of His creations. I love how The Message phrases Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:16:

“Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

Be generous and be open to others. It sounds like God is calling us to invite others to the party. The kingdom of God isn’t the kind of party where you need a password or a secret handshake or where you have to be someone important to get an invitation.

Respond

Describe “joy.” From where does your joy come?

List those among your friends or family who need to experience the joy of the Lord and be invited to His party.

Prayer

Gracious God, brings those across my path today who need to receive the invitation of Jesus Christ. Amen.