God's Keys to true Happiness
We all have something in common. All of us. No matter our race, nationality, or socio-economic status, we have a desire to be happy. We want to have joy in our hearts, purpose in our life, and gladness in our faces. Not only do we want this to be true of our own life, we want to be around people like this as well. And the reason this is true is because God created us this way. He created us for joy, His joy. Unfortunately, even though we want to be happy and God designed us in such a way that we long for His happiness, many of us would say we are not truly happy; we do not have God’s joy in our heart.
But Jesus brings Good News! He offers us the possibility of discovering true, lasting happiness and joy. In Matthew 5:3-12, Jesus gives us what has been called “The Beatitudes”. Beatitude is a Latin term meaning the blessed or happy life. In the Beatitudes, Jesus describes what attitudes and actions will bring God’s people joy in God’s kingdom. Hence, Jesus gives us “God’s Keys to True Happiness.”
What Jesus says brings happiness is exactly the opposite of what the world says bring happiness. The world says get; God says give. The world says rule; God says serve. The world says seek independence; God says be dependent upon Him. And just like God’s means of attaining happiness is different from the world’s, God’s definition of happiness is different from the world’s as well. The world’s definition of happiness is built upon good circumstances in life. God’s definition of happiness is having a deep, inner joy no matter what circumstances life brings us. As the Psalmist says,
“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound.” Ps 4:7
On Sunday mornings, during the months of November and December, I hope you will plan on being part of our Worship Service as we examine together what the Beatitudes and consider what Jesus says are “God’s Keys to True Happiness”.
