Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of God

I'VE ALWAYS LAUGHED at the idea of people not knowing what they want. I have known of this since a fairly young age. Sure, people want to be happy, but what is it that will make them happy? Henry Thoreau likened happiness to a butterfly saying "the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder." What Thoreau did not know is that he was almost two thousand years behind on this concept. Thoreau simply summed up our Lord's emphasis on whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

C.S. Lewis commenting on happiness said that "God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." God knows we are unable to be happy without Him, which is precisely why He emphasized seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

It's simple really, and it is actually about patience. Gone for now, is a lot like gone for good. It is our own stubborn and impatient ways that make us unhappy. Are we willing to accept delayed gratification? I mean that in both the micro and the macro sense. Would we rather accept a little happy now, or the better plan God has for us for when He deems us ready? Are we unwilling to sacrifice this temporal life for the sake of eternal paradise? The choice is obvious, but unfortunately it is a tough one.