By REV. EDDIE BURCHFIELD / Guest Columnist

Somebody said that a smile was the carnation in the buttonhole of life. I like this. A smile speaks volumes about a person. It is a language that needs no words to express itself.

Think about how valuable a smile is in itself. A real smile is priceless. Can you hardly contain yourself from smiling when a baby laughs or a puppy is loving all over you or when a kitten runs and plays with just about anything? It seems like every child can play with any child. It doesn’t matter the color or the financial status of their parents.

The difference in a real smile and a fake smile is found in one word — freedom. Freedom from sin. Sin is a smile-killer and a barrier between God and man. Psalm 16:11 says, “In the presence of God is fullness of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures forevermore.” This is the key to a real smile.

The goodness of God through the sacrifice of his son, Jesus, and the filling of the sweet Holy Ghost is free, but not cheap. Freedom is the quality or state of being free.

Joy is one of the gifts of the Spirit listed in Galatians 5. Joy is defined as a feeling of happiness that comes from success, good fortune or a sense of well being. Nehemiah 8:10 says, “The joy of the Lord is your strength.” That means fortune or not, well or not, thin or not, pretty or not, that the joy of the Lord is more than surface emotion. It is a gift from God.

David said in Psalm 30:5, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.” I love to laugh, but I can’t laugh at just anything. Men show their character in what they deem laughable. This becomes their testimony. It is read like an open book by all that know them. Character counts — big time.

Get close to Jesus, everybody. The closer, the better. He’ll make you a happy man or woman.

The Rev. Eddie Burchfield is a Pentecostal evangelist with Fresh Fire Ministries. You can reach him at rev.ed@att.net.