John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. Jesus said in John 10:10 that he came that we may have life and have it to the full. It is a life of freedom and joy but how does one find true freedom and joy?
Our culture advertises the slogan that happiness can be found when we control our own freedom and have things the way we want them to be. As a result, many people live their lives to please themselves without regard for how their actions affect others. Many even formulate their own systems of morality and ethics, and they attempt to find happiness in having the freedom to do whatever they want to do. However, true happiness and true freedom cannot be found by following the dictates of our own desires; rather, such behavior can lead to an amoral lifestyle marked by hurt and grief.
True happiness is better defined as “joy”. Happiness is an emotion that is fleeting while joy is much more. True joy is rooted in the heart and enables the person who has it to overcome the pitfalls that inevitably come as we go through life in a fallen world. Joy comes when we are at peace with the One who created us. God has set forth rules for humanity and those rules are simply “ways that work”. God’s “ways that work” reveal important truths about God’s character and how we are to live in this world. However, true joy and freedom do not come by merely adhering to a “do or don’t” list, rather true joy and freedom comes when we find a fulfilling and genuine relationship with our Creator. This joy and our love for God gives us the freedom and desire to follow Gods “ways that work” and to honor Him with our lives by how we live.
Successfully finding joy and freedom is rooted in the action of loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength as well as loving our neighbor as our self (Matthew 22:37-39). Only then can we find a personal fulfillment that meets our deepest needs and calms our fears and worries. When we follow God’s “ways that work”, he gives us the power to serve Him by obeying His commands with a joyful and expectant heart. The result is that we develop a fervent desire to serve God with our entire beings, which in turn fuels our desire to follow God’s “ways that work” set forth in the Scriptures.
Through Jesus Christ, God offers every person grace and mercy and an abundant life that frees us to live for God and not ourselves and only then can we truly experience real joy. When we obey God fully and love God fully, we find freedom and joy.