Commentary on the Gospel of
Christian Joy
In his book Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton refers to joy as “the gigantic secret of the Christian.” He observes that Jesus freely expressed his tears and anger, but “there was something that He hid from all men when He went up a mountain to pray…There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.” So secretive because it is so precious a fruit of the Spirit that he vouches that his disciples will have it in its fullness. Malcolm Muggeridge would testify thus after his conversion: “I can say that I never knew what joy was like until I gave up pursuing happiness, or cared to live until I chose to die. For these two discoveries I am beholden to Jesus.”
