The Cup of Joy

So [Zacchaeus] hurried and came down and received [Jesus] joyfully. Luke 19:6

D.L. MOODY
Did you ever hear of anyone receiving Christ in any other way? Zacchaeus received Him joyfully. Christ brings joy with Him. Sin, gloom, and darkness flee away; light, peace, and joy burst into the soul.

ERWIN LUTZER
Christ does bring joy, but sin causes the cup of joy to spring a leak. If we are troubled by our consciences, if we find ourselves in conflict with the world, our joy can turn into guilt or grief.
As believers, we find ourselves beset with many different kinds of trials and miseries. We can’t live with our troubled past and fear of an unknown future. Zacchaeus, as Moody pointed out, received Christ with joy, but then he had to deal with the reality of his past deceptions as a tax collector. He pledged to give back four times the amount to those whom he had cheated. No doubt his obedience, which had to be difficult, restored his joy.
When Jesus spoke to His disciples, He promised He would give them a joy no one could take from them (John 16:22). Our feelings and regrets of our past oftentimes distract us. But our true self-worth is really based on who we are in Jesus Christ. That’s why we receive Jesus joyfully—no matter the cost to us. Our self-worth is based on the costliest work of all that Christ has done, and on that basis, He calls us to be a son or a daughter of the Most High. God wants us to be free to love and serve Him with joy. As David put it, “My cup overflows” (Psalm 23:5).

PRAYER
Father, even when trials come, increase my joy! Give me joy in spite of my tears, joy in spite of regrets, joy in knowing Christ.

REFLECTION QUESTIONS
In what ways do "feelings and regrets of the past" distract you from the joy Jesus promised that no one can take from you?

What does it practically mean to live "in the here and now" as a son or daughter of the Most High with an overflowing cup?