April 10, 2020 – Click here to listen
I read an interesting poll the other day that stated: “By many accounts, Americans are living in contentious times. Yet they report being happier in 2017 than they were in 2016, according to the 2017 Harris Poll Survey of American Happiness.” That’s not to say that Americans are especially happy overall; only 33% of Americans surveyed said they were happy in 2017. In 2016, just 31% of Americans reported the same. Republicans tend to report higher happiness levels overall when compared to Democrats. (Just thought I’d throw that in as a point of interest.)
As I mulled over those results, I remembered reading something C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity. What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could “be like gods” — could set up on their own as if they had created themselves — be their own masters — invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history — money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery — the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.
So who does not want to be happy? Well, we all do, but wanting something is not the same as finding it. We all try to be happy, but how many people actually find true, lasting happiness? Of course for the Christian, we know this is a foolish journey.
Search for joy and it will elude you. Search for God wholeheartedly and you will be found by Him, and happiness will be thrown in as a by-product. This is basic Christian teaching, yet sadly even most Christians today seem to get this wrong big time. We look for happiness in things that were never meant to give it. We try to make ourselves happy with more money, more sex, more food, drugs, alcohol, more Netflix. But more of something that can’t make you happy doesn’t add up to happiness. But instead of dropping the unsatisfying things to search elsewhere, we take refuge in brief pleasures. We can’t find lasting happiness because we look to temporary things.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full‘ (John 10:10). He shows a hint of this in things like turning water into wine so people could celebrate at a wedding, but He doesn’t stop there. He offers us real life, real pleasure – not a dull, restrictive and stripped-down version of life.
Did you know the Bible ends with a big party? In fact it’s a wedding celebration. This is a picture of what heaven will be like – not a load of people floating on clouds playing harps and looking pious. It will be a real, physical place where we will feast and drink and sing. There we will celebrate with the guest of honor – Jesus himself. Every moment of joy and pleasure we have now is just a shadow of that ultimate joy that lasts forever.
This weekend is the most special of all weekends because it is the celebration of the defeat of Satan and his gloom and doom black sin and the end of death forever. Jesus was crucified and then triumphally arose from the grave to resume His rightful place in heaven. He is our Father and we are His children and I wonder how anyone could be unhappy just in knowing that we will spend all of eternity with Him. Make Him LORD of your life today and realize His joy. Happy Easter celebration feel the joy . . .
Psalm 144:15
Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!
Have a great Easter weekend and go to church or watch it online this Special Sunday!