#251 THE HAPPINESS CHRIST GIVES 10-8-26
God has always wanted His people to know the joy of His presence. In Genesis 2, we see God placing Adam in the garden of Eden, a place of beauty, abundance, fellowship, and purpose. God gave man something good to enjoy and something meaningful to do. Before sin entered the world, there was happiness in the presence of God.
Then sin came, and the world was broken. But God did not abandon humanity. He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, into this broken world to bring us back to Himself. Jesus came not merely to make life easier, but to give us something the world cannot take away. He said, “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (John 15:11).
ACKNOWLEDGE HIM
The first thing we must do is acknowledge Jesus for who He is. Genesis 2 tells us that God is our Creator, and the life of Christ reminds us that He is also our Redeemer. Jesus said, “I and My Father are one” (John 10:30). He came into the world, walked among ordinary people, touched the hurting, taught the multitudes, forgave sinners, and ultimately gave Himself on the cross. We cannot truly understand happiness until we acknowledge the One who gives it.
APPRECIATE HIM
We ought to appreciate what Christ has done for us. He left the glory of heaven and entered the sorrow of earth. He knew rejection, hunger, weariness, betrayal, suffering, and death. Yet He kept going because He loved us. “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13). When we remember what Jesus has done, complaining begins to lose its voice. Gratitude begins to speak.
ADORE HIM
Jesus is not merely someone we acknowledge or something we appreciate. He is Someone we adore. The angels worshiped Him. The disciples followed Him. Thomas looked at the risen Christ and said, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28). Paul declared, “For to me, to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:21). Christ deserves more than a place in our lives. He deserves our hearts.
ACT FOR HIM
Happiness is not found in merely talking about Jesus. It is found in living for Him. God gave Adam a garden to tend, and Christ has given us a life to use for His glory. “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). We have people to love, souls to reach, burdens to bear, good works to accomplish, and a gospel to proclaim.
Nothing can defeat Christ. The cross could not defeat Him. The grave could not defeat Him. Death could not defeat Him. And if Christ lives in us, the troubles of this life cannot ultimately defeat us either.
Our happiness is not dependent upon whether life goes our way. Our happiness rests upon the fact that Jesus Christ is Lord. Acknowledge Him. Appreciate Him. Adore Him. And act for Him. That is a life worth living.
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Lord Jesus, help us to see You clearly, appreciate Your sacrifice deeply, adore You completely, and live our lives faithfully for You. When circumstances are difficult, remind us that nothing can defeat You. Fill our hearts with Your joy and our lives with Your purpose. May everything we say and do bring glory to Your name. Amen.
BDD
