HAPPINESS in some shape or form is sought after by all mankind; but as most of God’s good gifts have their counterfeits, it would be desirable to inquire as to what true happiness is, and to be able to discern between the real and the spurious.
Alas, it must be confessed that those who seek after real and lasting happiness are in the minority How few know either how or where to seek it! There was a time in the history of man when it needed not to be sought after, but was enjoyed to the full by its possessors. Our first parents, Adam and Eve, knew what it was to receive true enjoyment immediately from its Fountain-head; and their perfect bliss consisted of communing with their Maker, of doing His will, and of taking delight in the good gifts which He had so unsparingly lavished upon them.
But there came a time when all this was changed. The reader well knows how the great enemy of God and man prevailed upon the happy pair to exchange their joy for that which he persuaded them was far better. In one moment were they robbed of their happiness: no longer could they delight to hear their Creator’s voice, no longer enjoy converse with Him. In one moment was this fair world plunged into utter ruin; in one moment was the whole human race placed under the curse of a righteous God. How infinitely happy are those who have been set free from the curse by the Redemption provided for them!
Ages have rolled away since then, and Eden’s bowers are still hidden from the gaze of man. But despite the angel and the flaming sword, a ruined humanity is still making desperate efforts to Unbar its gates and to regain lost happiness. Futile efforts! Fruitless task! A paradise lost will never be regained by any effort of feeble man. A power not his own must be divinely and sovereignly bestowed upon him before he knows how or where to seek true happiness. Disobedience gave birth to unhappiness and misery, and it is only through reconciliation that real happiness can be enjoyed. Does the reader realize that it is only through Christ that he can be reconciled to God?
That men and women do obtain happiness, of a kind, cannot be denied. God has given to the righteous and to the wicked alike pleasures for which they both should thank Him. But that any real and substantial happiness can be obtained apart from a knowledge of Christ is a delusion of the devil. The best of joys that the unrighteous possess are marred by sin, and all their pleasures will terminate in endless misery, if grace prevent not; but the joys of which Christians have some knowledge, are eternal, and though in the eyes of the world they appear to be miserable and unhappy creatures, yet they can speak of a “something secret” which sweetens all their cares. Reader, are you in the secret?
It is not necessary to remind the reader of the various ways in which men seek happiness. They are legion. What would be pleasure to one, would be misery to another. Things that give delight to some people, would be contemptible in the eyes of others. The man of culture and refinement finds no delight in the low amusement of the music-hall, and he will look with pity upon the deluded creatures who call it happiness to be entertained by such trifles. The man of education and intellect will not waste his precious time in reading the trashy literature which, alas, one often sees in the hands of young people of today. But whether he be a man of refinement or not, whether he be poor or rich, gentleman or pauper, if he knows not Christ, it can be truly said of him that he knows not what real happiness is.
Reader, you may boast of the fact that you know better than to indulge in worldly amusements; you may affect to despise those who find pleasure in sin. It may be also that you take a delight in keeping holy the Lord’s day, in talking about religious things, in associating with God’s people, and in keeping yourself outwardly circumspect. So far, so good; but you may do all these things, and yet not know Christ. Remember the parable of the sower. There are many who receive God’s word with joy, and who seem to have obtained true happiness, but soon their hearts are swallowed up in pursuing after something which ultimately will prove to be anything but happiness. The pleasures of the world may enchant for a time, but God is not mocked. He will have all the heart or none. Reader, has Christ taken possession of your heart? If so, you are a happy man.
Lastly, there is a happiness in store for those who seek it, of which they have but the meanest conception. They enjoy foretastes of it, they know what it is to receive the earnest or pledge of it; but soon they will know the meaning of what it is to see Christ face to face. This is the joy of heaven; there can be no heaven without Christ. This happiness is reserved for all that are born again by the Spirit of God; and such, and only such are the persons who will be able to enjoy the presence of God.
Reader, if you are never made unhappy by sin here below, you can never enjoy holiness either on earth or in heaven; if you never mourn over your evil heart, you will never know the happiness arising from the possession of a new heart. Read God’s book, and ask to be guided in the search for the happiness you now hear of. Ask for the direction of the Holy Spirit in leading you to the Source of real joy. “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
C. WILEMAN.