blog-maryBlog - Joyful Curmudgeon - Blog  - A Mary T. Hoffman Commentary from All-Creatures.org

 

"Joyful Curmudgeon" An oxymoron?
No! I see all the beauty of God's creation and I'm joyful.  At the same time, I see all the suffering and corruption going on in the world, and feel called to help expose and end it so that we may have true peace and compassion.

 


Introduction - 10 Jan 2006
By Mary T. Hoffman

“Joyful Curmudgeon” seems like an oxymoron; so let me try to clarify this title. “Curmudgeon” conjures up all sorts of negativity – a crotchety, ill-tempered old fellow (usually) who complains incessantly. “Joyful” is the emotional state of delight or happiness evoked by the prospect of possessing what one desires.

Thus, though I may come across as a complainer because I feel it is my Christian duty to help change the world for the better (after all, what other purpose can there be in life if not to leave the world a little better than when we enter it?), and most people would just as soon accept the “comfort” of the status quo, true joy comes from acknowledging reality and responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit of God to live according to His will, as far as possible in this fallen world. My joy will be complete when Isaiah’s prophecy is fulfilled:

Isaiah 11:6-9

6. And the wolf will dwell with the lamb,
And the leopard will lie down with the kid,
And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together;
And a little boy will lead them.

7. Also the cow and the bear will graze;
Their young will lie down together;
And the lion will eat straw like the ox.

8. And the nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra,
And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper's den.

9. They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain,
For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
As the waters cover the sea.
NASB

Isaiah 55:12

12. “For you will go out with joy,
And be led forth with peace;
The mountains and the hills will break forth into shouts of joy before you.
And all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
NASB

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