Recently, I spoke to a group of lovely ladies about having joy in every season of life. It was a good talk. The ladies laughed or nodded at the right moments. Many said, “this was exactly what I needed to hear.” That always makes my day. There is nothing like God using my words to encourage someone else. But as I thought about one of the points I made, I realized I didn’t get it quite right.
I told the ladies that joy isn’t stoic and quiet, which is true. When you look at passages in the Bible that describe joy, there is almost always praising, dancing, singing, shouting, loud music—sometimes so much that it splits the earth! (See 1 Kings 1:40) When I talked about the angels rejoicing, I pointed out that they rejoiced and sang at the birth of Jesus—true. And that they rejoice when a sinner is saved and that it must be very noisy in heaven if that happens every time. While I think they probably do join the rejoicing, I realized that they don’t initiate the rejoicing in heaven. It is God who rejoices when one sinner repents. Luke 15:10 says, “Just so, I tell you there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” It’s not the angels bringing the joy, it’s God himself. But I have a feeling when God rejoices, the angels do too.
That verse is directly before the parable of the prodigal son. Whose joy starts the party in that story? When the son returns to his father, it’s the father who runs to his son, rejoicing—embracing him, kissing him, and ordering the servants to quickly bring him the best robe, a ring, shoes, and prepare a feast. Luke 15:24 says, “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.” The father began the joyful celebration, and he still does when one of his children repents and comes home.
The joy of heaven comes full circle when his children finally arrive at home in heaven. Jude 24 says that Jesus will present us before the presence of his glory (the throne of God) with great joy. I picture Jesus with a huge smile, rushing us to the Father and announcing, “Look, she’s here!” And the Father responding, “Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your master.” (see Matthew 25:23) “In the presence of God is fullness of joy.” (Psalm 16:11) So, it makes sense that there is great joy in heaven—greater joy than we have ever known.
And that joy is being initiated by God himself—over you. So, do the angels rejoice in heaven? Joy is contagious, even here on earth in the simplest ways. It’s hard not to get caught up in someone else’s joy. We cheer, we laugh, we applaud, we jump up and down. But fullness of joy is there, in God’s presence. So yes, I think the angels rejoice continually. I can’t wait to join the celebration!
Lisa J Radcliff ~ Finding Freedom from the Past 