A Joy No One Can Take Away

A Joy No One Can Take Away

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
   did not regard equality with God
   as something to be exploited,
but emptied himself,
   taking the form of a slave,
   being born in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
   he humbled himself
   and became obedient to the point of death—
   even death on a cross.

Therefore God also highly exalted him
   and gave him the name
   that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
   every knee should bend,
   in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
   that Jesus Christ is Lord,
   to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

One of my all-time favourite poems is Kahil Gibran’s ‘On joy and sorrow.’ It’s a powerful poem about the inseparable nature of joy and sorrow. 

In our current society, we separate joy and sorrow. All the time, in fact. How could they possibly co-exist?

Yet – in Jesus – we see they do.

His sorrow in humiliation, betrayal, death, is ultimately linked to the highest exaltation – the joy of redeeming all things to Himself so that every knee may bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. 

Jesus, the name that is above every name, holds joy and sorrow, humility and exaltation, together. He knows death, and he knows life. He knows the deep pain of the world, and he knows the goodness creation and humanity were made for.

Why does he hold them together? How does he hold them together?

One reason. Because love breaks through. Love always breaks through.

In Jesus’ birth we see love break through - a love bringing hope for the world and the joy of redemption. 

In the midst of our sorrows and pain, deep in the depths, may we continue to see Jesus’ love breaking through.

The River 

In the mountains ran a stream

A small stream, a spring merely

Through the top of the forest it ran quiet and small

Trickling, flowing, naturally taking form

In and through the thick density of the trees

The ferns overlooked the stream, graceful and stoic

Guardians, protectors of the steam's humble beauty

Here in the sanctuary of the forest 

Its quiet waters soothed all

A peaceful consistency running across rock

In the tops of the trees, small birds

Little, little birds one could hear, never see

A harmonious symphony echoing forest life

Slowly, slowly the stream grew

The waters became more complex

A turn here, a turn there. 

The little stream of consistency became one of uncertainty

However it was here the stream formed

Against the stark realities of every bend

Then the stream found itself to be a creek

Stiller than before, wider, deeper, it's life so diverse 

The creek looked across the bank

Wide, wide

Deep, It felt its deep pools

And cried out in pain

Pain so unbearable, what was happening?

Pain deep, pain mysterious

In the pools of stillness the little creek looked

Dark and deep, unforgivably beautiful

So the little creek sat

To sit in one’s stillness would be the richest gift of life

To sit in the waters, the flood of pain, of sorrow

The richness of depths mysterious

Somehow it gave way, brought forth 

Deep in the depths could the creek become more.

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Photo Credit: Jasmine Wrangles

Jasmine Wrangles is a Christian leader and creative. This year she started an Instagram page - @be.wholed_modernpsalms - to share poetry and create a space for other Christian artists to share their work. She lives on Peramangk Country with her husband and son, and attends a Baptist church in the Adelaide Hills.

This devotional is the twenty-first in a series of daily email devotionals for Advent 2025 reflecting on the realities of our broken world along with the unshakable hope that love still breaks through. It explores how God’s love disrupts, heals, and transforms - breaking through darkness, despair, and injustice to bring light, joy, and renewal.

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Common Grace is a diverse movement of individuals, churches and communities passionate about Jesus and justice. We have come together as those from different Christian traditions who stand in the continuity of the historic Christian faith, centred on the life, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ as witnessed to in holy scripture. This series highlights the diversity of followers of Jesus across these lands. These voices may not agree with one another (or with you), but they are each an expression of longing for the God whose love we see break through in Jesus.

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