The Path to Happiness

What makes you happy? Is it a new car, a new wardrobe, money, success, or accomplishments? Is it security, fame, popularity, or being loved? All of these give us pleasure, but what actually makes us happy? Most agree that family and good friends bring us happiness. This is because the path to true happiness leads to love. It is love that we seek. It is love for which we long. The moments when we experience love are the most memorable and the most treasured. As American songwriter, Todd Rundgren wrote, “Love is the Answer:”

And when you feel afraid, love one another
When you've lost your way, love one another
When you're all alone, love one another
When you're far from home, love one another
When you're down and out, love one another
All your hope's run out, love one another
When you need a friend, love one another
When you're near the end, love one another
We got to love one another

    

Christ also taught that love is the answer. However, Jesus taught that giving love is the answer. We may look at our lives and wonder what is missing. We may have relationships with challenges or maybe they are in chaos. Christ taught us not to be concerned with others loving us, but rather, to focus on loving others. He often taught in parables, such as the Good Samaritan, who stopped to care for a man beaten almost to death by thieves. He described the Prodigal Son, who asked his inheritance from his father and squandered it until he was starving. In humility, he returned to his father to beg for employment. His father welcomed him unconditionally, threw a party to celebrate and simply loved him as if he never left. Christ taught about forgiveness, compassion, and going the extra mile, when someone asks you for a favor. He even taught us to love our enemies.

    

God is the source of love. He gave us the ability to love, when He created us in His image. Our purpose in life is to love. We have been given talents and gifts that we are expected to share with others. We are to look for ways we can be a blessing to others. In scriptures, the word “blessed” means happy. The Beatitudes are the blessings Jesus listed at the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3-11. Jesus talked about these blessings as attributes worthy of being pursued to bring us happiness because they teach us how to love as God loves. They teach us Divine Love.

    

Those who seek happiness in life take on these attributes in their daily lives. This is not an easy path in life to follow because genuine love requires sacrifice. Christ asked us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. In other words, He asked us to deny our ego and self-centeredness by becoming humble, sacrifice our worldly desires by becoming pure in heart, and follow His example by loving others. The path to happiness is the Journey Toward Perfection, toward love. Love is the answer.

  

 

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