The Source of Happiness
There’s only one true happiness in life: to love and be loved.
So what’s love got to do with it? Everything!
First Corinthians 16:14 in the New Living Translation cuts to the chase and says: “Do everything with love.” And plain and simple, if we do everything in love, howdifferent would this world look? How different would our lives be? I have good news! God wouldn’t tell us to do something we can’t do. We actually can live our lives in love.
The first “love lesson” or step is to recognize what real love is and why things don’t satisfy us the way we keep trying to get them to. Let’s look into what love has to do with our search for a happy and satisfying life.
I believe it’s easier to show you about real love than just to tell you, so take a look below at lists A and B.
List A
Love songs
Romantic movies
Family getaways
First kiss
Coffee with a friend
Walks on the beach
Family game night
Playtime with your young children
List B
Shiny new car
Big house
Swimming pool
County club membership
Expensive cuisine at a high-end restaurant
An updated kitchen or deluxe home theater
Expensive shoes
A sailboat
Did you notice a real difference in the lists? Did you notice that the items on List A are not tangible? Which list stirred up touching or meaningful memories?
Think for a moment about the last time you got that coveted new car or item on List B. Did it feel amazing? Sure, it did, and that’s great! But how long did that feeling last? I bet you can find several items on List A that you will treasure in your heart forever.
My point is this: It’s perfectly fine to own every single item on List B and enjoy it, but it’s List A that brings us true love, real love—the kind that makes our hearts go pitter-patter. For most of us, List A automatically plays a slide show of happy memories.
List B is more like stock photos of a wish list.
I think 1 Corinthians 13:13 pretty well makes the point, “Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love” (NLT).
I’ll never forget watching a documentary of the most famous musician of the day. He was driving down the 101 realizing that at 25 he had reached the pinnacle of his career. “Now what? I’m really disappointed that this is it!” he concluded. His later music centered on the themes of heartbreak and living without love.
Colossians 3:14-15 says, “Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful (New American Standard).
I love this! Above all these things in our lives, love binds us to those we care about the most and produces the peace we all long for. This makes me think of the famous musician mentioned earlier. No matter the level of success we reach or the amount of things we possess, we will eventually find out that what brings us the most is love.
The Amplified Version says of verse 14 that love binds us together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others. We were made for connection and unity. That’s why we are only as happy and fulfilled as we are connected. And, truthfully, as we focus on our vertical connection with God, our horizontal connections thrive.
The Bible tells us that God is love. Harvard tells us, according to their 75-year-long Harvard Grant Study, that the secret to a happy life is love. It follows that God is Love is Happy. What’s love got to do with it? According to scientific research, love has everything to do with it!
The truth is, we are all after the same thing, whether a famous musician in Los Angeles or a southern pastor’s wife like me. No matter the country of origin, socioeconomic status, race, marital status, age, religion, or political persuasion, we all want to lead a happy, satisfying life because love is the essence of human experience and emotion. Love is the at the root of all and everything we do. Without love, what do we have to live for? You already have love notes from heaven. Now, it’s time for you to love and be loved.
