“Ken, can I ask you a question?” Ragna asked. “Why are you so happy all of the time?”
The question took me by surprise. I had just survived a challenging commute into Columbus [Ohio] and was getting ready for the day’s work. I wasn’t sure if she was really serious or if her comment was just an offhand reference to my habit of whistling wherever I go.
“Do you really want to know?”
“Yes.”
I opened up the notebook I kept on my desk and, pointing to a picture of my family, said, “One reason I am so happy is because I have a house full of kids. That’s what it says in the Bible. Children are a heritage from the Lord. Happy is the man that has a quiver full of them.” (See Psalm 127:3–5.)
“But I don’t have any kids. How can I be happy?”
When she asked that, she stopped and watched my eyes. I knew she really wanted an answer.
“Ragna, you were created by God, and you were made to worship Him and enjoy Him. In this life there are many things that will give you temporary and incomplete happiness. You can enjoy food, relationships, romance, experiences, adventures, honors, possessions, and pleasures. All of them will bring some happiness, but inside you there is a deep spiritual hunger that no person, experience, or possession can ever fully satisfy. Only Jesus can do that.”
I went on to explain the Gospel to my friend, and she listened thoughtfully. My happiness had given me an opportunity to share Christ.
There are many profound theological and philosophical arguments about the truth of the claims of Christianity. There are approaches to Christian apologetics complex enough to fill huge volumes.
Maybe the most profound proof of the reality of Jesus is joy in the lives of His followers.
Dads should remember that. We do so desperately want our sons and daughters to know the reality of a living God and to walk in fellowship with Him all the days of their lives. They need to know God is real, even in the dark, even when they are tempted. They need a deep assurance that what they have been taught is true. They need to know that they can build their lives on it.
One of the most powerful arguments for the reality of the Christian faith is a “satisfied customer,” and when that satisfied customer is your very own dad, that is powerful indeed. When you come to the end of your days, will your children say, “Dad was really a happy man, wasn’t he?”
If you want to stimulate faith in your children, be happy. Rejoice. If you do, people might even ask you for the secret of your happiness.
Written by Pastor Ken Pierpont (1958–2024)
