In the face of the ultimate reality won for us by Jesus we don't have to pretend that life is better than it is. That we don't hurt as much as we do or that we are are feeling happy when we are not. We are invited to be fully alive; awake; alert; oriented to the truth, and to know that because of Jesus, because of all that he has done and won for us, we can be unwaveringly, defiantly joyful.