© 2013 by Tom Boynton (editing by Kathy Boynton)

The title of this article, “The Way to Happiness,” acknowledges the fact that most of us like to be happy. Even the United States Declaration of Independence proclaims, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

While it is certainly much more pleasant to be happy than it is to be sad, the pursuit of happiness is not the best way to find happiness. Happiness and joy are closely related. God’s Apostle John expressed God’s deep desire for Christians to be full of joy. He wrote, “…these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.” (1 John 1:4)  Immediately following this statement, John reveals the way to find this joy and happiness. He continues, “This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.” (1 John 1:5-7)

Notice that John does not encourage Christians to pursue happiness in order to find happiness. Rather, he instructs them to seek Christ in order to find happiness. The secret of that happiness is the forgiveness of sins which was purchased at great cost by the sacrificial death of Christ. All who renounce their sins and call out to God for this merciful gift will be forgiven. The pursuit of happiness is not the way to happiness. The pursuit of purity through Jesus Christ, who is God the Son, is the only way to eternal happiness.

Have you been spinning your wheels in the fruitless endeavor of pursuing happiness for its own sake, or have you sought the deep fulfilling love and forgiveness of the only redeemer, Jesus Christ the Lord?

 

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