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What brings you joy? When I was a young boy of 6, my grandfather took me fly fishing with him for the first time. He was already well advanced in years of life and experience in fly fishing. That day, my Grandpa Tom handed me his Orvis 3 weight rod; and I instantly fell in love with the feel of a fly rod in my hand. My earliest memory was not of the smooth finish of a well-made handle, but of the feel of his strong, yet tender, hand helping me to properly hold the rod that I recall most. He spent the majority of that morning patiently untangling knots and retrieving my wayward casts from trees that lined the cool mountain freestone stream.

In spite of my frustration, he remained calm. I frequently became discouraged due to my inability and lack of skill as a newbie. However, I remember his joyful smile and the reassurance of his words. He’d say, “Just keep with it, you’ll get the hang of it soon enough.”

By early afternoon he managed to teach me to make a basic cast with a short leader, outfitted with a size 16 elk hair caddis fly. We took a break for lunch and afterwards made a short drive up a dusty mountain road to what he called his favorite run. It was a river bend with riffle water that dropped off into a deep hole tucked into an undercut bank, situated in the middle of a beautiful green mountain valley. As we waded upstream to approach the hole, he reminded me to remember what we had been practicing. He reassured me with words of encouragement.

I crouched down and creeped up to the hole, my grandpa trailing just behind me. I could feel my heart beating faster, so I took a deep breath and made a cast. The fly landed soft enough, and I’ll never forget the sight of the wild brown trout that rose to the surface from the shadows of the river bed to eat my fly. “SET, SET, SET!,” my grandpa shouted! I hooked the fish and landed it! However, that day I too was hooked!

Looking back, I don’t know which one outshone the other when I landed that fish: my excitement, or Grandpa Tom’s joyful belly laugh. I do know this, what was first his joy, he was glad to share with me. His joy became my joy, and then my joy seemed to multiply his joy. Such it is to be a disciple of Christ, and a fisher of men!

The Lord said, “By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:8-12)

Is your joy in Christ? In His presence there is fullness of joy! As Christ’s disciples, we find our joy in Him, and so we pursue Him (in His word and prayer) in our pursuit of joy. In doing so, the Spirit leads us in fruitfulness to pursue one another in the love of Christ. Then, His joy may be in us, and our joy in Him may be full. As we grow in years and wisdom as disciples of Christ, may we not miss out on the compounding pleasure that comes from giving of ourselves in love and service to each other. This pleasure is found in our own pursuit of joy and Christlikeness, as we pursue each other out of the abundance of His love for us.