“There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.” G. K. Chesterton closed out his book Orthodoxy with that line. It tracks. What else would cause a man to take up a cross? What else would possess a man to die for the undeserving?

But Christ’s mirth, which was kept secret for ages and generations, in the fullness of time burst the wineskins at Calvary. For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2). But the joy that was set before Him is set behind us. Secret mirth poured out of His side with the water and blood, like the new humanity came forth out of the door of Noah’s ark. Look up; the rainbow is in the sky. Look to the heavenly temple; the veil has been torn.

One of the errors of our age is to think that joy is always out in front of you. And they add to this that the joy you should be after is your joy. The truth is that mirth is at your six. Watch out. It is coming for you. And that joy back there is the joy of the Lord (Nehemiah 8:10).