John the son of Zachariah met Jesus the son of Mary, John smiling of face and welcoming while Jesus was frowning and gloomy. Jesus said to John, "You smile as if you feel secure." John said to Jesus, "You frown as if you are in despair." God revealed, "What John does is dearer to us. (Kitab al-Ikwan, Abu Bar ibn al-Dunya)

Based on my prior understanding of their ministries, I would expect Jesus to be smiling and John to be frowning.

I speculate - I don't really know enough to theorize - that the Islamic tradition gives us a glimpse of the competition between the followers of John and Jesus in the centuries after their death.

By the time of Mohammed (late Sixth Century into the early Seventh Century) the Assyrian Church was undergoing monastic reforms emphasizing strict asceticism. The reforms were based on their understanding of the model established by John the Baptist.

At the same time the Mandaean followers of John, more numerous and prominent than today, rejected asceticism as heretical. Their baptism had removed the need for fasting, giving cause for celebration.

In any case, the spiritual lesson seems to me correct. We should smile much more than frown. We are to approach life with confidence in God's love and grace.