jn_en_2019_01_04
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- | Friday, Jan 4, 2019. | + | Friday, Jan 4, 2019. What is the idea of the New Testament about human life? How to |
+ | live? What to do? Think of a Christian man or woman in the middle of our society. Does | ||
+ | the bible say something about how to relate to others around? How to live? What to | ||
+ | pursue? Today in western societies we consider the pursuit of happiness as | ||
+ | a human right - everyone should | ||
+ | do it as he wants, as long as he does not hurt or violate the rights of others. But | ||
+ | how does the bible relate to this? | ||
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- | ** ... ** | + | ** Christian Pursuit of Happiness |
+ | First, we can say that indeed the bible wants us to pursue happiness! It just has | ||
+ | some remarks what kind of happiness is healthy and sustainable. It clearly points | ||
+ | out that only in and through Jesus Christ, full happiness can be achieved for | ||
+ | a human. Only through him, we receive forgiveness and eternal life. Only through | ||
+ | him the holy spirit is accessible. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Let us look into the second chapter of the letter 1 Timothy, where the apostle | ||
+ | Paul writes to his mentee Timothy: | ||
<color #aa0000> | <color #aa0000> | ||
- | 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, | + | 1 First of all, then, I urge that supplications, |
</ | </ | ||
+ | It is remarkable that Paul urges the church (through Timothy) to pray and to thank | ||
+ | God for all the others. Here, he talks in particular about kings and those in high | ||
+ | positions. It is about each and everyone who has responsibility for other people. | ||
+ | As Christians, we should keep praying for them, from pure hearts! We should pursue | ||
+ | their happiness as well, and their truthfulness and blessing - through prayer! | ||
{{ 2019: | {{ 2019: | ||
- | ** ...** | + | ** Still life full of happiness and truth ...** |
- | + | The goal which Paul describes is a " | |
+ | in every way". Let us relate this to the pursuit of happiness. How can you be | ||
+ | happy if you do not have peace in your heart? In this sense peace is a core part | ||
+ | of any happiness. Without peace, happiness is close to self-deception. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Paul also describes the goal as "quite life". If you are truly happy, you do not | ||
+ | need to be loud. You do not need to be clamant. True happiness has some element | ||
+ | of being self contained, being in peace, being at rest. | ||
+ | |||
+ | But Paul also clarifies that life should be godly. For those who have discovered | ||
+ | that God is the fantastic creator, source and friend, the saviour, love itself, | ||
+ | full of truth, creativity, majesty and freedom - how in the world should you not | ||
+ | be godly, not orient your life and emotions and thoughts and actions towards | ||
+ | him? How can you find full and deep happiness without the connection to him, | ||
+ | without having him in your life day by day? | ||
+ | |||
+ | In God, there is tremendous dignity for each and everyone of us. He dignifies | ||
+ | our life even just by looking at it. His appreciation of life is breathtaking. | ||
+ | He gives full value to every single life form through his deep love. When we | ||
+ | react to this, when we are touched by it, and changed by it. When we are in his | ||
+ | presence, our pursuit of happiness has reached its ultimate goal! All is good. | ||
(Roland Potthast) | (Roland Potthast) | ||
[[http:// | [[http:// |
jn_en_2019_01_04.1546585412.txt.gz · Last modified: 2019/01/04 08:03 by potthast