Happy Beginnings
“‘The distance all around will be 18,000 cubits. And the name of the city from that time on will be: the Lord is there.’”
Today’s Text: Ezekiel 48:24-35 (Living Life Daily Devotional)
Most people, if they are more or less normal, desire to be happy. We seek happiness instinctively. We seek happiness obsessively. The desire for happiness drives most of what we think, feel, say, and do. The desire and drive for happiness is a powerful force in our lives and in this world.
In fact, the desire for happiness is so powerful that many (if not most) people will subconsciously try to shape the narrative of their lives in such a way as to portray a happy life, even if they may not be very happy.
And so, to shape the narrative of my life in such a way that will lead me to real happiness, two things need to happen.
(1) To see God glorified and Christ exalted and people saved has to become my greatest happiness.
(2) I have to long deeply for Jesus to return
In a way, to see God glorified and Christ exalted and people saved become my greatest happiness, I will have to let go of my own desire for happiness—at least, happiness here in this life.
Because whatever happiness I can attain in this life will pale in comparison to the happiness that I will attain when Jesus returns.
No matter how much happiness I might be able to achieve in this life, if eternal life meant nothing more than extending this life into eternity, I’d say, “No, thank you.”
Happiness in this life is always contaminated by sin and interrupted by tragedy, sickness, disaster, and death. Perhaps, that is what the Apostle Paul meant when he said -
If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.
— 1 Corinthians 15:19
Anyway, it is my desire for happiness that makes me long for Jesus to return. I long for Jesus to return, so I do what Jesus tells me to do, as best as I know how, in the hope that my actions will facilitate His return. Because Jesus made a promise.
And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
— Matthew 24:14
And then the Father will bring the new heaven and the new earth and give us the New Jerusalem, and the name of that city will be: The LORD Is There.
Father, You are the Creator of heaven and earth, the Giver of life, the Author of our salvation, the Forgiver of our sins, the Redeemer of our souls. Let Your gospel be preached to the whole world, and come, Lord Jesus, come. In Your precious name. Amen.
