“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Many people desperately want to be happy. They want life to go smoothly and comfortably. They don’t want to be inconvenienced, and they don’t want problems. This is understandable, but it’s not realistic. Life in the real world is often uncomfortable and inconvenient. Things don’t always go smoothly. There are problems and frustrations. There are difficulties and disappointments. Sometime there is pain.
The curious thing is that the happiest people are not those who have no problems, but rather those who are able to solve problems, overcome obstacles, endure pain, and have a good attitude in the midst of difficulties and disappointment. They have discovered one of life’s most important lessons: True happiness comes from within, not from external circumstances.
We must not allow the frustrations and difficulties of the fallen world to disrupt us or weaken us. The “abundant life” that Jesus promises in John 10:10 is based on our relationship with him, not on our relationship with circumstances. It is an internal quality of life that can only be found in relationship to Jesus. It is a quality of life that manifests itself even in the midst trials and tribulations.
Believing in Jesus does not mean exemption from the pain of life. Quite the contrary, Christians experience the full spectrum of the world’s difficulties and discomforts. What makes the Christian different are two things: power and perspective.
The power of God
Authentic Christianity confronts the realities of the broken world with the empowering and transforming truth of Jesus. The Christian operates from a divine power source. This is spelled out in 2 Corinthians 4: “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed …”
Christians are not exempt; we bear the brunt of the fallen world. But here is the great truth: We can be hurt, but we cannot be defeated. We have access to the power of God, and because of that we are strong even (especially) when we are weak. When we feel discouraged and disheartened, the Lord makes his strength available to us. The power for the Christian life does not come from self; it comes from the Lord who created us, calls us, and redeems us.
2 Corinthians 4.16 says it wonderfully: “So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day.”
The perspective of faith
Authentic faith does not distort or deny the pain of the broken world; rather, Christian faith operates from a perspective that sees the world’s difficulties through the lens of the bigger truth of God’s kingdom. The transforming truth for the Christian is that the afflictions of the world are real, but they are temporary, and they pale in comparison to the glories of God’s kingdom.
Consider the last two verses of 2 Corinthians 4: “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
We see the world as it is, and we are not afraid. We also see the world as it will be, when Christ returns and brings the fullness of his kingdom to planet earth. When Jesus restores the world to its original glory, and we will enjoy fellowship with Christ on a fully redeemed earth.
“Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 1:13)
This long-term perspective on the promised future is essential for effective Christian living now. Since we know that Christ will return to reign and fully redeem and restore the earth, then we should see the affliction and difficulties of the present age for what they are: dying remnants of a broken world that will eventually give way to the love and lordship of Christ. The present world is temporary; the kingdom of God will be eternal. We should live every day in the temporary world with the eternal perspective in mind.
It is this precisely this perspective that we find in 2 Corinthians 5: “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens … So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, for we walk by faith, not by sight.” (2 Corinthians 5.1, 6-7)
This is the radical message of the Christian faith: Happiness is not the goal of life; rather, happiness is the consequence of a life rightly lived.
