It is really not that complicated!

We live in a day when narcissism is the norm. Even in the church so many programs and so much curriculum is aimed at helping people achieve a happy life for themselves.

Of course we call it something more spiritual than seeking a happy life, such as seeking:

a "Spirit filled life"

Or

a "victorious life"

Or

an "abundant life"

and so on, but what we really mean by all this is that we aren't altogether happy in our faith and desire to find that happiness in Jesus under these more spiritual sounding names!

Why are we so concerned about how we feel? Is how we feel our main problem? Is trying to feel better the answer?

Jesus said:

Mark 12:28 Then one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, perceiving that He had answered them well, asked Him, “Which is the first commandment of all?”

²⁹ Jesus answered him, “The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. ³⁰ And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ This is the first commandment.  ³¹ And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (NKJV)

Does Jesus want us to be happy in Him? I think so, joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22), we are to rejoice in the Lord always (Phil. 4:4), we are to "serve the Lord with gladness" (Psalm 100:2), and of course the Greek word translated "blessed" in the beatitudes can also be translated "happy" are the poor in Spirit" (Matt. 5:3).

The problem isn't that we are wanting something we can't have, happiness in the Lord, the problem is we are looking for it as a goal, rather than experiencing it as a byproduct of following Jesus! And according to Jesus following Him is pretty simple - love the Lord and love your neighbor!

One thing we won't be doing as we do this, is thinking about our own happiness, and it is as we love Jesus and others in His name that these promises of an abundant life, a victorious life, a Spirit filled life, and even a happy life will happen, not because we sought it, but because we sought to love God and others and forgot about us in the process!

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.