When Benjamin Franklin was in England on behalf of the American colonies, he received a letter that two of his friends had died—Stephen Potts and William Parsons. They were both members of a club Franklin had organized years before. As Franklin pondered the news, he thought about the differences between his two friends. Parsons, he said, was always fretting even in the midst of prosperity, whereas Potts was always laughing even in the midst of poverty. "It seems," Franklin observed, "that happiness in this life rather depends on internals than externals; and that, besides the natural effects of wisdom and virtue, vice and folly, there is such a thing as being of a happy or an unhappy constitution."¹

Franklin was right. Some do have a happier constitution than others, and having a glad spirit depends more on internals than externals. True happiness is not based on our fortunes but on our faith. It is not external bliss but internal belief that makes us glad.

I've been thinking about that word "glad." We don't use it much anymore. It's an old–fashioned word. Remember how it used to show up in our hymns and songs? We used to sing, "Oh! Say, But I'm Glad," and "Glad Day!" One song said, "I am so glad that my Father in heaven, tells of His love in the Book He has given."

Somehow "glad" has gotten pushed aside by other terms like "happy" and "upbeat." Yet in my favorite translation of the Bible, the word "glad" occurs nearly 150 times. As I peruse those verses, I come away feeling we have an obligation to serve the Lord gladly. Not just to serve Him, but to serve Him gladly and to do so today.

Psalm 100 tells us, "Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing." Deuteronomy 28:47–48 presents a more ominous approach to the subject: "Because you did not serve the Lord your God with joy and gladness of heart, for the abundance of everything, therefore you shall serve your enemies. . . ."

The apostle Paul said, "I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls" (2 Corinthians 12:15). He told the Philippians, "If I am being poured out as a drink offering on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I am glad" (Philippians 2:17).

Even George Bernard Shaw, not known for his Christian convictions, understood something of this. He once wrote, "This is the true joy of life, the being used up for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy."²

Today: Serve Gladly Because It Reflects God's Nature

We can make a difference today when we serve the Lord with joy. After all, it reflects His very nature. God is joyful, and His heaven exudes a joyful atmosphere. In 1 Chronicles 16, God's presence is characterized by strength and gladness (verse 27), therefore, the heavens should rejoice and be glad (verse 31).

In Hebrews 1:9, we are told that Jesus was anointed with the oil of gladness. When we are serving Him with joy, we are importing the environment of heaven, the atmosphere of the throne, and the very personality of Jesus into our daily walk and work.

Today: Serve Gladly Because It Exhibits the New Birth

Likewise, a glad heart exhibits the new birth. The Gospel is the message of "Glad Tidings" (Luke 1:19). Jesus "went through every city and village, preaching and bringing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God" (Luke 8:1). On the Day of Pentecost, the crowds listening to Peter "gladly received his word" and became known for their "gladness and simplicity of heart" (Acts 2:41, 46).

In the early days of the Salvation Army, one convert explained the change Jesus had made in his life by saying: "My old companions said, 'He's undone!' My old companions said, 'He's gone mad!' But Jesus made me glad, bless His Name!"

I love the old hymn that says, "When I am sad, He makes me glad. He's my friend." Haven't you found it so?

Today: Serve Gladly Because Jesus Is Alive

We're joyful today because Jesus is alive. One of the Bible's greatest understatements is found in John 20:19, when the risen Christ appeared to His desolate disciples on Easter Sunday night. They were huddled in the Upper Room when Jesus suddenly appeared, saying, "Peace be with you!" He showed them His hands and side, and the disciples instantly received 20/20 vision, for John 20:20 says: "Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord."

Every day is Easter for us. Jesus is alive and near us each moment of every hour. We live and labor in His presence. We walk with Him and talk with Him in unbroken fellowship. He's near at hand as a very present help. How can this not make us joyful?

Today: Serve Gladly Because You Are Blessed

That's not all. We're joyful today because we're blessed. After dedicating the temple in 2 Chronicles 7:10, the Israelites went "away to their tents, joyful and glad of heart for the good that the Lord had done for (them)." John 1:16 (NIV 1984) says, "From the fullness of His grace, we have all received one blessing after another." We're gifted "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3). His divine power has given us "all things that pertain to life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3).

Have you consciously thanked God today with gladness? Are you serving with joy from blessings, or with drudgery from burdens? I know times are bad and depression is epidemic. But a disheartened believer is a poor recommendation for the Christian faith.

Today: Serve Gladly Because the Harvest Is Coming

We can also serve joyfully today because of the coming harvest. Rejoice this day because of that day. Isaiah 55 promises that His word will not return void but "shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." Therefore we can "go out with joy and be led out with peace" (verse 11–12).

Jesus told us to lift up our eyes to the fields, for they are white for harvest, and "both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together" (John 4:35–36). We will doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing our sheaves with us (Psalm 126:6).

If you're discouraged because you've been toiling away in the Lord's work with few signs of progress, think of the coming harvest and rejoice in advance. Your labor isn't wasted. Your efforts aren't in vain. Not a drop of energy has been lost. As we serve Him gladly today, it's in anticipation of the harvest tomorrow.

Today: Serve Gladly Because Others Need It

Finally, we should serve the Lord gladly today because others need it. We pass along attitudes to others, and our sadness or gladness becomes contagious. A recent study of 12,000 interconnected people in Framingham, Massachusetts, found that happiness passes from one person to another like the flu. The closer you are to someone happy, the happier you'll be. One researcher said, "We found that each happy friend a person has increases that person's probability of being happy by about nine percent. Each unhappy friend decreases it by seven percent."³

There's a new type of consultant today who call themselves "joyologists." Their message is: There is joy even in the most menial tasks. Nothing is drudgery if the Lord is in it. Wherever we are is holy ground if He is there, and if we are practicing the presence of God.

If you want to find strength for every day, cultivate a joyful heart. If you want to rekindle a passion for your faith, cultivate a glad spirit. If you want to win someone to Christ, cultivate a winsome attitude. If you want to recover the purpose of Christian service, make up your mind to serve the Lord today with joy.

Today is the day to be a light shining in a dark world, fueled by the joy of the Lord. Today is the day to say, "I was glad when they said to me, 'Let us go into the house of the Lord' " (Psalm 122:1).

¹H. W. Brands, The First American: The Life and Times of Benjamin Franklin (New York: Random House, 2000), 300.

²Joseph McCabe, George Bernard Shaw (New York: Mitchell Kennerley, 1914), 245.

³Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler, Connected (New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 2009).