who is the thief of joy?

Rejoice Exceedingly with Great Joy, 2022 (3rd painting of Love Series Paintings)

Artwork inspired by Matthew 1:10

Keiko Yamada

Acrylic Painting on Canvas

24 x 30 inch

 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful,

and endures through every circumstance.

Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and

special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 (NLT)

When I was thinking about what it means by "love is not jealous", it happens to be on Christmas day, which had more connection than I imagined.

When we think of Christmas, it often looks like a joyful holiday filled with beautiful decorations and delicious food.But did you know that behind it all, it was also a day marked by shocking and deep jealousy?

Everything started when King Herod heard this from the Magi from the East:

“Where is the newborn king of the Jews?

We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”

Matthew 2:2 NLT

When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed and jealous.

“Wait a moment—I am supposed to be the king of the Jews!” he must have thought.

Herod then attempted to locate the newborn child who was called the king of the Jews in order to kill him.When his plan failed, he acted out of rage and ordered that all the boys two years old and under to be killed.

📖　PAUSE ＆ REFLECT（The Destructive Power of Envy)

Jesus Christ was ultimately put on the cross because of the jealousy of deeply religious leaders.“ He (Pirate) knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.”(Matthew 27:18 NLT)

Why do you think people were jealous to that extent?

Jealousy Is Not Just Someone Else’s Problem

If we could say, “How terrible—King Herod killed infants out of jealousy! ”and treat jealousy as something that has nothing to do with us, then perhaps there would be no problem.

But when we look carefully into our own hearts, even if we have never killed anyone like Herod, haven’t there been times when we envied someone, felt bothered by their existence, wished they would disappear—in other words, wanted to erase them in our hearts?

Even if we do not go so far as to think, “I wish that person didn’t exist,”haven’t we felt jealousy in subtler ways, such as thinking,“Why do they have that, and I don’t?”

At times, we may feel shame or guilt over such jealousy.But surprisingly, the God who created us loves us so deeply that He is described as jealous for us.

📖 PAUSE & REFLECT — Human Jealousy and God’s Jealousy

Exodus 34:14 refers to God as jealous God. What do you think is the difference between human jealousy and God’s jealousy?

You must worship no other gods, for the Lord, whose very name is Jealous,

is a God who is jealous about his relationship with you.

Exodus 34:14

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A God Who Loves Us Jealously

According to verses like Exodus 34:14, it is clear that God’s jealousy is most clearly revealed in Scripture when humanity turns to idolatry. Yet the Bible says, “Love is not jealous.”So isn’t it a contradiction to say that God, who is love, is jealous?

Human jealousy seeks to possess what it desires by any means, even if the other person is destroyed.But God’s jealousy is different.Although everything already belongs to Him, God patiently waits for each person to choose Him of their own free will.He never ignores human will.

We also must remember that God and humans are fundamentally different in nature.God is unchanging, completely holy, and without flaw.That is why God possesses what can be called holy jealousy—something entirely different from the sinful, self-centered jealousy we experience in daily life.

Because God is the Creator of all things, He alone can rightfully say,“You are mine.”And for Him to carry this out with holy jealousy is, in a sense, only natural.

📖 PAUSE & REFLECT (God's Jealousy toward us)

God’s jealousy is His passionate determination to give us life. How do you feel knowing that such holy jealousy is directed toward you?

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Our Response: Rejoice by Fixing Our Eyes on the Star (Christ)

The only complete way to let go of our human jealousy is to stop fixating on what others have and instead fix our eyes on the God who loves us so deeply that He is jealous for us.

God’s jealousy does not drag us back by force.

Instead, He has opened a way so that whenever we choose to return, we can.That is why He sent His Son, Christ, in the likeness of sinful flesh.

When the Magi saw the star that represented Christ,“They rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.”

With those same eyes, they then beheld the child with His mother Mary, fell down, and worshiped Him.

What are we looking at as we walk through life today?

Are there times when we look too closely at what others have and allow jealousy to accumulate in our hearts?

No matter how beautiful what others possess may appear, it is only temporary.None of it can be taken into eternity.

Let us once again lift our eyes to the Messiah’s star.

Today's artwork was inspired by Matthew 2:10.

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy!

Matthew 2:10 NLT

As Magi's hearts were filled with joy when they saw Messiah's star, may our heart also be captivated by Him. Messiah who came into this world as a baby over two thousand years ago, died for us on the cross, and rose again.As we remember and rejoice in this truth, may we be freed from human jealousy, embrace Jesus Christ, and be filled with joy—because God loves us with a jealous love.

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Thank you for reading!