You deserve to be happy.

Actually we all do. That's what we were created for. That's one of the main reasons Christ came to earth, died and rose again. I realize religion has skewed most of our perspectives to the point in which we sometimes seriously question the previous statement...but that isn't Jesus' fault...it's our own. We all deserve life, genuine life and that is what Christ said He came to give us.

The problem isn't that He doesn't want to give us life, the problem is that most of us are still deciding what we think genuine life is...and if we aren't with forethought about discovering the absolute definition we will wander through our short existence and never come close to experiencing real life.

Miller Light offers us a high life.
Hollywood offers us a glamorous life.
Citibank offers us a life, right now (they forget to tell us about the consequences of trying to get life from a credit card).
Most religions offer a semblance of life if you really "plug in".

Jesus offers us abundant life, but not like everyone and everything else. He is the only one in history who ever said "I am the life."

I ran across a couple quotes from men far more intelligent than me that sum it up pretty good...

"If I want to travel north and all the roads are cut to the east, of course I shall complain of the roads. I shall find nothing but obstacles; I shall have to surmount walls, and cross rivers, and go round about, and after all fail my end." ~ John Henry Newman

About this statement, Eugene Peterson (The Message Bible guy) said this...

"Such is the conduct of those who are trying to achieve some meaning in their lives, pursuing their right to happiness, but refusing to take the well-traveled roads that lead there."

There is a well-traveled road to happiness and genuine life. We're going to start exploring what it is this Sunday.

peace,
glo