MAXIMUM JOY
Anyone who has raised a child understands the difference between
relationship
and
fellowship
. A parent has a permanent
with his/her child. But
with a child means the parent and the child are enjoying their
. And though their
is eternal, their
is not. A father and his son have a permanent
, but unless they spend time together sharing with one another, they will not have much
. The apostle John wrote one book about how to have an eternal
with God-the Gospel of John (John 20:31). And he wrote another book about how to enjoy that
, or how to have
with God-First John (1 John 1:3-4). Dr. Anderson explains that First John is not about whether one has an eternal
with God, but it is about how to enjoy that
by having
with God. And enjoying
with God is what Dr. Anderson calls MAXIMUM JOY.