Rev. Chuck Nutt, Camp President

Called to be an Extremist:

Be Joyful—Always!

Most of us would not claim to be joyful all the time.  Yet Paul’s command in Philippians 4:4 is to rejoice—always.  He qualifies it by adding that our rejoicing is to be “in the Lord,” but provides the double emphasis with, “And again I say, rejoice!”

Though the state of continual rejoicing may seem personally unfamiliar, there are those people in our experience who have appeared to be joyful all the time.  She was to me, a children’s evangelist, a youth worker, and later, a dear friend and mentor.  I can still hear her voice, her words, and the melody with which she would proclaim, “Oh Lord, You’ve been so good to me!”

Edith Gallagher rejoiced in the goodness of the Lord to her.  The truth is, God’s been good to all of us.  Part of that goodness is the people He has given to us as examples of His grace. They are models we can emulate.  And though being joyful all the time may seem a distant possibility, if we look closely, God has given us pictures in people that demonstrate how and show us the way.