True Happiness

Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a
distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. (Luke 15:13)

Among the founding principles of our nation is “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” But we need to ask the questions, “What kind of life?”, “Liberty to do what? Happiness in what sense?

The younger (prodigal) son thinks life, liberty, and happiness can be found in “wild living,” so he rushes off with reckless abandon to pursue it. But he winds up destitute – physically and spiritually. His life was nothing more than spiritual death. His liberty became slavery to sin. The relative fun he may have had was not true happiness.

St. Augustine seemed to have in mind this dilemma when he wrote –

“Indeed, man wishes to be happy even when he so lives as to make happiness impossible.”

True happiness is found when our liberty is governed by our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when we receive new life in him.