Article August 4, 1934 Issue

Signs of the Times

with contributions from Emil Gocker, Roy L. Smith, E. H. Cotton, Louis S. Bauman

[From the Christian World, London, England]

Happiness ... is not to be found in things and actions, but in that inner poise and peace which comes of the harmonious working of all the parts and faculties of our being, and their right adjustment to others and the world outside. The story of the relation between religion and happiness is a very curious one. That true religion produces the highest kind of happiness goes without saying. ... What religion does for a man is so to transform and develop his whole being that both his conception of happiness and his capacity for it are enormously enhanced. ... When the apostle called men to rejoice always and everywhere, it was to rejoice in the Lord and to glory in tribulations. In his eyes the gospel was an abounding source of the truest happiness, because it brought men to themselves, lifted them above their fears, and assured them of a love of God from which nothing in heaven or earth could separate them. And it is in this faith that man's real happiness still lies. Without it life can be no more than an aimless drifting on an uncharted sea. ... But the chief end of man is "to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever," and only in seeking this end can he fulfill the demands of his own being. Only as he reckons with the love of God can a man face with untroubled mien the chances and changes of this mortal lot. Secure in this faith, man knows the secret of a quiet spirit and obedient heart. He will keep an even mind amid misfortunes, and will not fret or worry either over his own state or that of the world around him. To do so is the worst form of unbelief, and he knows it. For the Christian, therefore, happiness consists in that living faith in God which issues in self-sacrificing service and has learned to say, "Thy will be done," not mine. Not until a man gets above himself and above the narrow round of his own devices and desires, can he satisfy the deepest needs of his own nature or put himself right with his neighbors. Only in God, whose service is perfect freedom, does this become possible. That is why the soul is restless and distraught until it finds Him, and why in His presence is fullness of joy and peace that passeth understanding.

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