Dieu a inscrit sa loi dans nos cœurs (Romains 2:15). De toute évidence, il y a aussi gravé un ardent désir de bonheur. Le fait est que, dès le début de l'histoire de l'Église, il y a eu un consensus entre les théologiens.

Certainly first-century Christians experienced much heartbreak and persecution. But they also experienced happiness, celebration, and the abundant life in the midst of difficulty.

Dans un autre article, je vous proposais de réfléchir sur six fausses attentes qui sont parfois les nôtres et qui ne nous rendent pas heureux parce qu'elles ne sont pas conformes à la Parole. Alors en vue de notre bonheur, quelles attentes conformes à la Vérité devrions-nous avoir? Voici maintenant sept vérités qui valent la peine d'être méditées.

Satan has conned many people into a twisted view of the Christian life. We imagine that God calls us to do things that won’t be good for us, while the unbelievers are out there having all the fun. 

The true gospel cannot be improved upon. Theologian J. Gresham Machen (1881–1937) said, “In the gospel there is included all that the heart of man can wish.”

Sometimes focusing on God’s “big miracles”—like curing cancer and making brain tumors disappear—causes us to overlook His small, daily miracles of providence in which He holds the universe together, keeps our hearts beating, provides us with air to breathe and lungs to breathe it, and gives us food to eat and stomachs to digest it. 

Com base em livros que li, sermões que ouvi e conversas que tive, é claro que muitos cristãos crêem que o desejo da humanidade por felicidade foi concebido na queda e faz parte da maldição. Portanto, o desejo de ser feliz é muitas vezes considerado como o desejo de pecar.

David Brainerd (1718–1747) served as a missionary to the Delaware Indians of New Jersey. He was orphaned at fourteen, and in college he suffered from debilitating tuberculosis. Having endured great suffering while serving in a fruitful ministry, he died at age twenty-nine. 

I find that most Christians are surprised but open to these ideas about happiness, including that God is a happy God and offers us His own happiness. Yet some remain doggedly determined to believe and teach that God doesn’t want His children happy and happiness is inherently wrong. This is so strange, because what loving father doesn’t want his children full of joy and happiness, in the right sense?