The Key To True Happiness

"Then the LORD your God will prosper you abundantly in all the work of your hand, in the offspring of your body and in the offspring of your cattle and in the produce of your ground, for the LORD will again rejoice over you for good, just as He rejoiced over your fathers; if you obey the LORD your God to keep His commandments and His statutes which are written in this book of the law, if you turn to the LORD your God with all your heart and soul." - Deuteronomy 30:9-10

What makes you happy? Go ahead. Make a list. I'll wait. I'm serious! Make a list of the things that make you happy. While you're going to your "happy place" I'll get you in the mood for some real happiness by showing you this little paragraph from an article I just read entitled "What Really Makes A Person Happy."

"Friday, March 20, marks the third-annual International Day of Happiness. The day came about after a 2011 UN General Assembly, where the importance of happiness was discussed as not just a priority for global health, but also as a “fundamental human goal,” from which all things — even economic growth — can benefit. With this realization about the importance of happiness in mind, the first UN Conference of Happiness was held in 2012 and it was decided that starting in 2013, every March 20 to follow would be celebrated as International Day of Happiness." - Amanda Chatel, Bussle.com

You know, I've just decided hat there are two types of people in this world. One kind thinks that what they just read is absolutely wonderful. The other kind, the group I belong to, thinks, "That was the biggest crock of you-know-what I have ever read and it is a perfect example of what is wrong with this world." Anyway, enough of that. Let's get happy!

So what DOES make you happy? I'm going to guess what's on that list of yours and I bet I nail a few of them . . . all with just one word. Love.

I think most of us are at our happiest when we are loved. Is there anything on your list of things that make you happy that do NOT involve love of one kind or another? We love . . . love. We sing songs about it, write stories about it, we emblazon it on our coffee mugs and out tee shirts. Yet, despite all this "love" in our lives we still can be a broken and crumpled mess at times. Why is that? I think it's because we haven't committed to truly love ourselves. And we truly haven't committed our hearts to Jesus.

Since I gave my life to Christ I have experienced more love than I have ever known. And it is a deeper love . . . and unconditional love . . . a sacrificial love. It is an amazing love. The only problem with this kind of love is that many people don't know it even exists. They think they already know what love is. There is something greater . . . something purer . . . something deeper.

So how do you find this kind of love? WHERE do we find it?

Before I give you my sales pitch about Jesus I want to tell you something I have found to be true. I surrendered my life to Jesus 9 1/2 years ago. I am no expert theologian. I just read the Bible and believe what it says. But I testify this day to a greater love than anything you have ever known.

Since I made that commitment to Christ, the love I feel for others has grown deeper. That love has changed in natural as well. It is no longer a needy desire to be loved. It has changed. The love I feel for others is now sacrificial in nature. It is unconditional. And THAT is where true love lives.

If you want to feel loved like you've never been loved before, seek out Jesus. Seek out a true believer and begin a conversation. The name "Christian" has be high jacked in my opinion and no longer holds it's biblical meaning.

I urge you to call out to God. Ask Him to love you and to prove to you that He exists. If you do so with a sincere heart you had better hold on because the life you lived before will change. You will be "transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2).

There is nothing any human can say or do to convince another human to do something. This has got to be something you WANT to do. All I am doing here today is asking you to consider it. Jesus changed MY life. Jesus can do the same for you. And you will experience love like you have never known.

"11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love." - 1 Corinthians 13:11-13


You Are My King / Amazing Love - Chris Tomlin