Verse of the day: Matthew 5:3 “Blessed are the
poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happiness…a quality of life that
seems to escape many, even Christians. I can say right up front that those who
do not have a personal relationship with Jesus will never experience true
happiness unless they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. As born again
believers, we should be the example and model of what it means to live a happy
life. Do not misunderstand me; to live a happy life does not mean that we live
a life that does not challenge us, or a life in which there will never be
trials or tribulations. The fact of the matter is that we all, Christian or
not, will experience hardships in this lifetime. The difference comes down to
how we respond to life, and how we respond to life will be determined by our
relationship to God. Jesus, in His Sermon on the Mount, tells us what we need
to possess to have a happy life here on earth. He begins by addressing what is
the foundation of what is needed to be happy in this lifetime. It begins with
being “poor in spirit”. In other words, it is having a humble opinion of who we
are outside of Jesus Christ. It is about realizing that we have no
righteousness, in and of ourselves, which entitles us to receiving eternal
life. Being “poor in spirit” means that we are willing to accept salvation by
faith, and acknowledging that it comes only by God’s grace (Eph 2:8-9). John
1:12-13 reads, But as many as
received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who
believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. There is true blessing, or
true happiness, when we know that our eternal destiny in secured in Christ, and
that nothing, or no one, can take it from us (Jn 10:27-30). What greater joy
can we, as God’s children, experience than knowing that we are now at peace
with our Heavenly Father, and knowing that we have undeserved favor with Him
because of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ? The world teaches that happiness
comes from having riches, gaining man’s honor, and being involved in sensual
pleasure that make our flesh feel good. Yet, all these things are temporary,
can be lost in the blink of an eye, and often are the very source of our
troubles and sorrows. True happiness comes from knowing that no matter what
happens to us in this lifetime, in the end, we have inherited the kingdom of
heaven in Christ. Ephesians 2 tells us that we were once dead in our
trespasses, but in Christ we have been made alive, together with Jesus, raised
up with Him, sitting together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that He might
show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us. The bottom
line is that before we can experience true happiness in this world, we need to
first acknowledge that we need Jesus, and humbly accept His free gift of salvation;
which is free to us, but was paid for with the precious Blood of Jesus. Once we
have accepted eternal life in Him, we must continue to live a life of humble
submission to Him, and avoiding the trap of forgetting that we deserved nothing
but condemnation. We must continue to humbly, and faithfully, serve Him, being
thankful for our heavenly inheritance. Happiness on earth begins with keeping
our eyes heavenward, knowing that Heaven is our home, and some day we will be
there; and no one can change that once we are in Christ Jesus.
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