John 15:9-1 | Jesus and Happiness
Finding True Happiness: The Joy That Jesus Promises
We all want to be happy. It's wired into our very being - not just emotionally, but physically through neurotransmitters like dopamine and serotonin that course through our bodies. Yet despite this universal desire for happiness, many of us find ourselves looking for it in all the wrong places, settling for momentary highs instead of lasting contentment.
The problem isn't that we want happiness - God designed us for it. The issue is that we often confuse temporary pleasure with deep, lasting joy. What we really crave is what the Bible calls joy: long-term, deep contentment and happiness of the soul that cannot be taken away.
What Made Jesus the Happiest Person Who Ever Lived?
When we look at the life of Jesus, we see someone who possessed perfect happiness and contentment. There has never been a more satisfied person than Jesus. And remarkably, Jesus wants us to have that same joy. In John 15:11, He says He came so that His joy may be in us and that our joy may be full.
But how do we access this joy? Jesus reveals three key movements of true happiness that can transform our understanding of what it means to be truly content.
Joy Adores: Building Happiness on Unshakable Love
The foundation of lasting happiness is found in understanding how deeply we are loved. In John 15:9, Jesus makes an astounding statement: "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you." This means the same perfect love that exists between the Father and Son in the Trinity is now extended to us.
Why God's Love Is Different
God's love isn't like human love that comes and goes like fog rolling in and out. Love isn't just a force or feeling - love is a person. God Himself is love, and this love has existed perfectly within the Trinity for all eternity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have loved each other perfectly forever, which means God has never been lonely, never needed anything, and never had a bad day.
This changes everything about how we understand God's love for us. He didn't create us because He was lonely or needed someone to love. He already had perfect love within the Trinity. Instead, He chose to extend that perfect love to us freely, not because He needed us, but because love naturally gives itself away.
The Problem with Building on the Wrong Foundation
Where are you looking for happiness? Is it in relationships, your job, achievements, or future dreams? While these things aren't bad, they make terrible foundations for lasting joy. It's like building a beautiful house without a proper foundation - the moment trouble comes, everything collapses.
We've seen this literally in recent hurricanes, where million-dollar homes built on inadequate foundations were swept away. If you build your hope and happiness on anything other than Jesus, it will eventually fall apart. Your job, relationships, and future plans need the steady foundation of God's unshakable love.
Joy Abides: Remaining Connected to the Source
Jesus commands us to "abide in my love" - to remain connected to Him like branches connected to a vine. This raises an important question: how do we stay connected to God's love, especially when we struggle and fail?
The Mystery of Love and Obedience
Jesus presents what seems like a paradox. He says both "if you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love" and elsewhere "if you love me, you will keep my commandments." Which comes first - love or obedience?
The answer is both. Love and obedience are inseparable, like two sides of the same coin. Just as you can tell if people are truly friends by how they treat each other, genuine love for God naturally produces obedience. It's not that we obey to earn God's love, but that God's love produces the fruit of obedience in our lives.
Four Keys to Abiding in Christ
1. Depend on His Grace: Just as you became a Christian by grace through faith, you remain in God's love the same way - not by your good works or promises to do better, but by depending on His grace.
2. Respond Through Obedience: Obedience is the effect of God's love, not the cause. When you truly grasp how much God loves you, gratitude wells up and makes you want to trust and obey Him.
3. Rest in His Love: Like the old hymn says, "O love that will not let me go, I rest my weary soul in thee." As you rest in God's love and submit your life to Him, He makes your life richer and fuller.
4. Don't Resist His Pruning: Sometimes God prunes things from our lives - seasons, jobs, comfort, security - not to harm us, but to make us healthier and more dependent on Him for our ultimate happiness.
Joy Abounds: Experiencing Fullness That Overflows
Jesus promises that His joy in us will be full - complete, filled to the brim, overflowing. This fullness means several important things about the happiness God offers.
Jesus Plus Nothing Equals Complete Joy
God's happiness is enough for you. It's not Jesus plus the right job, partner, or life situation that makes you happy. It's Jesus plus nothing. But it's also not Jesus minus the hard parts of Scripture or minus suffering. It's Jesus alone who provides complete joy.
Joy That Transforms Relationships
When you find your happiness in God rather than in other people, it actually makes you a better friend, spouse, parent, and coworker. You're no longer trying to make others the center of your happiness, which means you can love them freely without crushing them with unrealistic expectations.
Joy That Lasts Forever
The happiness God offers isn't temporary. You get to spend eternity with Someone who exists to make you happy in Him. This joy can coexist with sorrow and pain in this life because it's rooted in something deeper than circumstances.
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to examine where you're really looking for happiness. Are you building your joy on the unshakable foundation of God's love, or are you trying to construct happiness on things that can be taken away?
Practice depending on God's grace rather than your performance. When you catch yourself trying to earn God's love through good behavior, remind yourself that He loves you because He loves you - not because of what you do.
Ask yourself these questions:
What am I looking to for ultimate happiness and security?
How would my relationships change if I found my joy in God rather than in other people?
What might God be pruning from my life to draw me closer to Him?
Am I trying to earn God's love, or am I resting in the love He's already given me?
True happiness isn't found in getting what we want, but in wanting what God wants for us. When we abide in His love, we discover that His joy is not only sufficient - it's overflowing.