As Americans the “pursuit of happiness” is something that is part of our cultural identity. We live in the greatest country in the world, with the greatest opportunities for success and happiness, and yet so many Americans are anything but happy. It almost seems as though the more our society gains materially the less happy we are. When our founding fathers used that term, “the pursuit of happiness”, I don’t think they believed happiness came from material things. No, they believed happiness was rooted in our individual autonomy and freedoms, given to us by God. And they were correct in that belief.
In our text this Sunday, as we continue through John 15, we will see the source of true and lasting joy is in direct proportion to our reliance upon Christ as our source for all we need. That need begins with Christ’s unique ability to deal with our sin problem through His sacrifice on the Cross. True and lasting joy can only be known through the new life we can have in Christ. But even Christians can experience unhappiness if we are not fully relying on Jesus as the source for all things. When Christians believe they need certain things from this material world in order to know joy or feel happy they instead will find disappointment that results in shame, sadness and depression. Join me this Sunday as we pursue unparalleled joy from our life in the vine.