What, then, is the secret of flourishing? What does flourishing consist of? Jesus said, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (Mt.5.3-10). In the light of these verses and in the full light of the Word of God we can answer that the secret of flourishing consists of at least three things.
First, we must recognize that we will never get anywhere in our search for happiness until we give up trying to find it by our own efforts and receive it instead as God’s free gift. This means that God is the source of all spiritual blessings, and in this as in all things we must look to Him. James presents this simple truth clearly. “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change” (Ja.1.16-17). Certainly, the first effect the Beatitudes have on those who understand them is to turn their minds to God our heavenly Father.
Second, we must realize that the blessing of God in an individual life begins with forgiveness of sins. When David wanted to speak of the happiness of the believers in Old Testament times he wrote, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (Ps.32.1-2). Paul, years later, quoted these verses as a description of the initial happiness that comes to a man who believes in Jesus.
Sin is a horrible barrier that divides a person from God. Sunday school children sing a song about God’s blessings.
“There shall be showers of blessing,”
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
But for the unsaved man sin is somewhat like a great black umbrella that keeps him from the showers of blessing. He can walk under the umbrella hunting for puddles; but they will always be muddy, and he will not be satisfied. Instead of this he must ask God to remove the umbrella – as God has promised to do, for anyone who will trust in Christ’s death and resurrection – and thereby place Him under the direct flow of happiness.
Finally, we are to study the practical means by which the Lord Jesus Christ will introduce us to the flourishing life of true happiness and how we are to avail ourselves of it. The life of the Sermon on the Mount is the life of Jesus. And the life of Jesus is communicated to the Christian by the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, who comes to live within him.
Dr. Donald Grey Barnhouse referred to this truth as the reason why no believer can find an excuse to fail to live a joyous life. He wrote, “There is, therefore, no excuse for any believer to sink to a low-level Christian life. The fountain is flowing, and there is plenty of water within the reach of every believer…. If you submerge a bottle in water what happens? Some of you will say, ‘The air bubbles out and the water flows in.’ However, a bottle can be submerged in water, and no air comes out nor does any water flow in. There was a cork in the bottle. The cork must first be pulled out. God is like that with us. He has the purpose and the power, but He will not ravish our beings. Love can never be commanded, and He wants us to love Him, so He woos us by creating all the qualities which go with emptiness and frustration. But when we tell Him to go ahead and do His work, out comes the obstacles which keep Him from filling our beings, and in comes the power of the Holy Spirit, so that life at once takes on abounding quality. There is no abounding without the pressure of His power behind it. Nothing can overflow from us until we have first been filled. And we cannot be filled until His power comes in with the enabling.” That is the secret of flourishing.
Do you know this secret? Many do not. And even Christians often apparently do not know it. Recognize the fact that happiness (i.e. “flourishing”) comes from God. Learn that the first step to God’s flourishing is the forgiveness of sin. Find it practically through the enabling power of Christ’s Spirit. Finding true happiness, flourishing, is as simple as that. Men will seek for it through money, fame, power, love, security – in every way but this. Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Mt.6.33).
Maranatha!
(mar-uh-nath-uh – “Our Lord Comes”)
Pastor Steve can be reached at PastorSteve@MaranathaBibleChurch.org