Then how?
"For the Joy that was set before Him, He endured the Cross."
Jesus endured the pains and the sorrows, ironically, so that Joy will be the outcome. So Joy was the purpose for his suffering. Not that He enjoyed suffering, mind you. Jesus was no masocist. But Jesus suffered and died to show us that there is a kind of Joy and Happiness that was literally worth dying for - one that is not of this world.
I came across a quote from C.S Lewis that really made me think about this -
"If there exist in me a desire that cannot be satisfied by anything in this world, then it simply means I was created for somewhere else."
Wow! What a great thought. Because even if I say, "Happiness is not my purpose." There is in me, an inate desire to be happy. I want to be happy. Blaise Pascal, a French mathematical genius and mystic who died in 1662, observed ...
"All men seek happiness. This is without exception. Whatever different means they employ, they all tend to this end. The cause of some going to war, and of others avoiding it, is the same desire in both, attended with different views. This is the motive of every action of every man, even of those who hang themselves."
I suspected this was true. But I always feared that it was sin to pursue Happiness. That wanting to be happy was a moral defect. Yet, it was clearly what motivated Jesus to deny Himself and take up the cross - "For the Joy...He endured the cross", and He ask us to do the same thing.
Could Jesus be showing us that self-denial is not about renouncing joy, but renouncing lesser joys for greater joys?
"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full." John 15:11 The aim of all that Jesus taught was for the Joy of His people.
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking but of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." Romans 14:17 points to the fact that the Kingdom of God is about joy.
Whats even more mind boggling is that fact that God commands us to be Joyful.
Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Psalm 33:1 Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright.
Psalm 32:11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
It’s commanded because what is at stake is not just our joy but the glory of God, the honor and reputation of God. If we do not rejoice in God – if God is not our treasure and our delight and our satisfaction, then he his dishonored. His glory is belittled. His reputation is tarnished. Therefore God commands our joy both for our good and for his glory.
So if our purpose in life is to glorify God and I do that in being happy in Him, wouldn't that make being happy in God the purpose of my life? Because it is true, whatever makes us happy, we automatically glorify - it could be my new Ipod, my tickets to Robbie Williams concert or the Nonya Laska I discovered in Malacca that I just can't shut up about. Whatever satisfies me, I glorify.
But I want my life to glorify that which truly satisfies. (Nothing sucks more than bringing someone to eat something you have been raving about for the last few weeks only to have them taste it and say, 'erm...its okay lor...'. ) And it is clear what (or who) that is:
"Then I will go to the altar of God, to
God my exceeding joy." Psalm 43:4
So yes, Life is difficult. To accept it is reality, maturity and sanity. But Life is not about difficulties. Rather, difficulties are opportunities to show where our true joy really is- when we are not put down when things don't go our way because these things are not what we depend to lift us up in the first place! Not acceptance from others, not having that promotion, not having that perfect life doesn't make us sad because we don't depend on them to make us happy.
We depend only on 1 thing that does, in this world and the next -
"You make known to me the path of life;
in Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures
forevermore." Ps 16:11
So let me apologise for my last entry when I said 'Happiness is not my goal'. That's not exactly true. (I'd be going against my God-given nature and God's commands if so) To clarify- Happiness in the things of this world is not my goal. However, Happiness in God is. Our live's purpose to be about glorifying God.
And God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied (happy) in Him
Leo
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