1John 1:4 - Something better is here...

"And these we ourselves are writing, in order that our joy may be having been filled up."

-Joy.  It is not the same as happiness.  We all think we want to be happy, but what we really want is joy.  Happiness is fleeting, temporary.  Happiness is all circumstantial.  When my circumstances change, that can rob me of my happiness.  You and I don't really want to be happy - not when we understand the reality of the situation.  These aren't the droids you're looking for.  What you and I really want is joy.  Joy is qualitatively different.  It is a deeper and abiding sense of goodness and satisfaction which is rooted in the reality of Who God is, what He has done for me in His Son, and who I am in Him.  It is grounded in timeless unchanging truth.  Which is why Scripture - which is unchanging truth - can and does tell us to rejoice always (Philippians 4.4, 1Thessalonians 5.16, 1Peter 4.13, cf 1Peter 1.6-8, Philippians 3.1, Philippians 1.18, 2Corinthians 13.11, 2Corinthians 6.10, 1Corinthians 13.6, Romans 12.12).  Truth is always truth.  So that which is my cause of rejoicing today will (or should) still runneth over my cup tomorrow and the next day and the day after that.  Joy triumphs over circumstances - or should.  It washes over the brokenness and the sadness and the loss and the missteps, and says, something greater is here.  Something good, something better is here.  In fact, it is a Someone, and He working a weight of glory which is far beyond compare.  And right here, right now, He is good, He is in control, and He is with me.  Emmanuel.

-John here tells us that he is writing to fill up his own joy, but rest assured, his motives are altruistic.  There is an altruism, an others-centeredness, which transcends my natural instinct to merely please myself.  It finds joy and satisfaction in bringing joy to others, in helping them realize whatever desired outcomes they may have in mind.  There are two actual possibilities here, both of which could be in play.  One is that John’s joy is that of the friend of the bridegroom and will increase as more and more people begin to follow and honor the Groom, this One of Whom he is writing - his Savior, the Word of Life (cf John 3.29, Luke 15.7).  The other is that John’s joy will increase as others begin to drink from this same fountain of heavenly delights from which he also drinks deeply (the words of Jesus are truly a source of incomparable joy - John 15.11, John 17.13, cf Jeremiah 15.16, Psalm 119.103).  Whether increased glory for Jesus or increased joy for his readers, both will result in filling up his own joy.  That is why he is writing.  Next verse...