Authentic Happiness

The Authentic Happiness website gives this definition of so called Authentic Happiness:

“. . .it is possible to be happier — to feel more satisfied, to be more engaged with life, find more meaning, have higher hopes, and probably even laugh and smile more, regardless of one’s circumstances.”

I would agree with this statement, for the most part. As a Christian I know what it means to have this so called authentic happiness. I would revise the quote however:

In Christ, it is possible to be happier — to feel more satisfied, to be more engaged with life, find more meaning, have higher hopes, and probably even laugh and smile more, regardless of one’s circumstances.

I have my motivation for happiness. It is Jesus Christ. What does the world think? Here is an interesting article published last May by the BBC. The article first attempted to define happiness and after coming up with no clear meaning, it went on to describe what (according to researchers) did and did not contribute to happiness. First it examines the effect of wealth on happiness:

“Standard of living has increased dramatically and happiness has increased not at all, and in some cases has diminished slightly,” said Professor Daniel Kahneman of the University of Princeton.

Nope. Wealth doesn’t bring happiness, not even from the World’s point of view. The wisest man to ever walk the earth also had some things to say about wealth in Ecclesiastes 2:9-11.

So I became great and surpassed all who were before me in Jerusalem. Also my wisdom remained with me. And whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. Then I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.

It’s quite obviously not wealth. So, what did the BBC article have to say about what makes us happy?

First, family and friends are crucial – the wider and deeper the relationships with those around you the better.

The second vital ingredient is having meaning in life, a belief in something bigger than yourself – from religion, spirituality or a philosophy of life.

The third element is having goals embedded in your long term values that you’re working for, but also that you find enjoyable.

Relationships, a belief in something bigger than oneself, and having good long term goals. I think we can learn some important things about the sole purpose of man from these observations. I could have used the Word to arrive at the same conclusion, but I think it is sometimes nice to examine the fullness of the truth presented in Romans 1:20

For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

This context of this verse speaks about the failure of humanity to live up to our responsibilities and God’s just judgment in light of this irresponsibility. I think that this verse applies to every area of our lives, including human behavior. What does the Bible say about the analysis presented in this BBC article?

1 John 4:7-10

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.

This passage clearly covers the first two points observed in the article. I think it is fair to assume that to love something is to find pleasure or happiness in it. I don’t know anyone who would debate this. So, here we have relationships with others that are related to a belief in a higher being. More specifically, a love for God which spills over into a love for people. The third point is discussed later in the passage.

1 John 4:17-18

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

Because of the love that Christ has shown us, we have confidence in the future. More specifically, we don’t fear it. This confidence and hope for the future gives Christians a happiness that is bigger than our circumstances.

So what about the psychologists? They almost got it right. I think that is true with many things in modern psychology. They see the effects and call them the means. Relationships, belief in God, and hope for tomorrow are all trivial without Christ. Christ brings a happiness that results in deeper relationships, bigger faith in God and more confidence in tomorrow. He has been offering the happiness that modern psychology seeks after for thousands of years. You’d think somebody would catch on.

Reflections on the Incarnation of the Word

Last Thursday at Navigators, I heard a message that opened up my mind to a new way of thinking about the purpose of the cross. We were studying the first few verses of John, which are probably well known to even the newest believer. Here is John 1:14 :

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

I have known for a long time that this refers to the incarnation of Jesus Christ and I understood that Christ came to save the sins of the world. I also understood that everything was for His glory. What caught my attention Thursday night was a revelation of why God’s plan for the world is the way it is. God was in complete control over the fall of man. If He wanted to prevent it, He could have. If He did not prevent it, that must mean that He wanted it to happen. This is strange. I think He did it to prove Himself. There may be an unfailing love of a husband towards his wife, but it is not seen so much as when he buys her flowers for no reason or brings her breakfast in bed.

After last Thursday night, I am more convinced than ever that the reason that God did it this way was to demonstrate His attributes in the fullest way to His creation. What do I mean by this? I’ll take two attributes of God and tie them back to John 1:14. Justice and love are some of the attributes of God in the Bible. In Job 37:23 it says:

The Almighty—we cannot find him;he is great in power; justice and abundant righteousness he will not violate.

Without the fall God still would have been just. He would be just in not administering punishment on the innocent. That’s good. It is hard to put my mind around the implications of this. One of the reasons that God allowed humanity to sin was to show His justice. Hell is an awful reality. Sometimes I cannot comprehend why God chose to send humans to hell. After all, Lucifer and his demons would have demonstrated God’s justice plainly enough. I am not going to discuss the topic of God’s choice to save some and condemn others. I do know this. The angels (perhaps both heavenly and damned) understand the matter differently. 1 Peter 1:10-12 puts it this way:

Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.

The angels don’t fully understand the gospel.  Angels don’t have second chances.  One sin damns them to eternal suffering.  The blend of God’s love and justice is confusing to them.  So, if you will bear with me and take a different perspective as you read this entry.  Rejoice in the fact that God saves at all!  This brings us back to John 1:14.  Why did the Word have to be made flesh?  Once again, God’s attributes would have been the same if the Messiah had not come to live on this earth.  Humanity could have fallen like the angels without hope of return.  God blessed John with an understanding of this phenomena.  In 1 John, he talks about why believers love.  Here are verses 7 – 12 of the 1 John 4:

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.  In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

I am using many excerpts from scripture in this post, but I think that God describes Himself better than I do.  In this passage we see the reason why God sent His Son into the world.  The love of God was manifest through Jesus Christ substitution for us.  He loved us so much that He spent all His wrath on Christ (this is what the word ‘propitiation means’).    This great love of God would not have been so clearly seen if we had no need for it.

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

John 1:1-3

The Son of God was already amazing before he revealed God’s attributes to humanity.  I think that’s the reason that God did it this way.  Believers will have a much more intimate relationship with God than did Adam and Eve.  We understand His character so much more.  We have seen who He is in creation as they saw.  We see the sunsets and sunrises.  We hear the gentle breeze and feel God’s works moving in our daily lives just as they saw.  But I think it was impossible for them to see how big God really is.  He really is just and loving.  He not only tells us He loves us, but He acts as the loving husband.  Only Christ did not merely make us breakfast or brings us flowers.  He laid down His life.

The Word was made flesh so that we could see God.  God allows everything that happens on this earth to happen so that we can see God.   And in seeing God more, He is glorified more.  And the cherry on top is that seeing God gives us a joy that is unmatched in this world.  I thank God for the incarnation so that we could see Him fully, truly, as He is.

God Bless.