“The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound…” —Isaiah 61:1
Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness are the desire of every human being on earth. When God created the world by the word of His mouth and man from the dust of the earth, He gave him life and liberty to pursue true happiness in glorifying His Creator perfectly without sin, living forever. The only requirement was obedience to his benefactor. The Garden of Eden was richly prepared with all that a heart could wish for.
Only one tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was off limits. But man, by the prompting of Satan, lusted after this tree with its forbidden fruit so that instead of life, death reigned. Instead of liberty, earth became his prison, and the pursuit of happiness was turned into sorrow. “Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions” (Eccl. 7:29).
Man thought to become as God, and instead he turned into a child of Satan without realizing his miserable condition! Man is dead while he lives. He goes about the world looking for life, liberty, and happiness where it can never be found. The wisest man to ever live, Solomon, tried everything to find happiness and then concluded, “Vanity of vanities, saith the preacher; all is vanity” (Eccl. 12:8). Any life or liberty found in the world is fleeting. True life and liberty are found outside of ourselves in Jesus Christ, resulting in true happiness. Happiness is found in returning to and being reconciled to the Triune God through Jesus Christ. “Happy is that people, that is in such a case: yea, happy is that people, whose God is the Lord” (Ps. 144:15).
O happy people, favored land, to whom the Lord with liberal hand
Hath thus His goodness shown; Yea, surely is that people blest
By whom Jehovah is confessed to be their God alone.
—Psalter 393:3
By the world’s standard, God’s people are without life, liberty, or happiness; but they have eternal life and liberty, and they do not need to pursue happiness but shall possess it for all eternity. Jesus Christ is their life, liberty, and happiness. Is He yours?
Cornelius VanKempen known as Case, has been married to Susan for sixty blessed years. They attend and are members of Heritage Reformed Congregation in Grand Rapids, MI.