《尋求幸福！Seeking Happiness!》

你必將生命的道指示我，在你面前有滿足的喜樂，在你右手有永遠的福樂！~詩篇16:11

每個人在世上都在找出路，為要得著美地，尋得幸福!

孩子要找東西玩！學生要往好學校去！工作要找好老闆，藍海市場、甚至是創新好點子！尤其是在動盪、不確定的時代，找對了路，人生成功了一半，找錯了路，要付出更多的代價。社會環境的改變，使生活成了不容易的一件事，看似時代進步、經濟發達，事實上人們卻必須花更多的時間在找出路，或是讓自己的生活更美好。也許我們不承認我們需要找出路，但找到美好幸福的慾望卻從來不曾少過。

聖經中耶穌有一個大宴席的比喻，說到有人擺設了宴席要請許多賓客光臨，但是這些賓客卻都有自己的事而不克出席，有的買了地，增加了資產，有的買了牛，增加了生財工具，有的娶了老婆而春風得意，不同人卻都因為自己在人生得時得志的時刻，而不在乎上帝國的恩典，以致於主人生氣，就去請了原本不在名單上的人，連沒有資格被邀請的人都可以進來。我們一直都在用自己的方法在世界找出路，用自己的努力來達到自己人生的目的，但努力到最後卻錯過了那些原本就要給我們的福份，反而失去了更大的祝福。然而對於那些可憐的人們而言，因貧窮而摸不著幸福的人、因殘疾而沒有能力得著幸福的人，或是無法看見幸福的人身上，他們卻因神的邀請而得著了幸福。

在耶穌的比喻中，名單上的賓客是猶太人，在街上被邀請的人是外邦人。而在我們的世界中，名單上的是基督徒，而在街上被邀請的人是非基督徒。有許多在家庭中的幾代基督徒失去了立志跟隨主的初衷，而迷失在豐富的恩典之中。而有許多人為了信耶穌，而必須冒著生命危險，離開原有家人與朋友，為了信仰付上為了信仰付上許多代價。有一句台灣話說：『一代清、二代明、三代霧霧嘸明、四代你請我嘸閒。』就是在描述基督徒在豐富恩典中失去了起初的信仰。

幸福在那裡？這是我們每一個想尋找的，也許我們窮盡一生的力氣、經過許多的痛苦，一直到最後才發現，幸福原來很簡單。用單純的心來追求神的旨意，會強過心機下的自私自慾。來到神面前得著的安息，也勝過追逐金錢得著的驕傲。願我們都能在神的面前找著滿足的喜樂與永遠的福樂！

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You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. Psalm 16:11

Everyone is looking for a way to get to a beautiful place and find joy.

Children are to find something interesting to play with. Students are to aim for a good school. Adults want a decent job, a good boss and to come up with creative ideas or even some blue ocean strategy. In an era of turbulence and uncertainty, people are halfway to success when they’re on the right track, but they have to pay more if they choose the wrong path. Life is not easy with the changes in the social environment. It seems like our society is advancing, and the economy is developing. However, people are spending more time looking for their path or making life better. We may not admit that we need a way out, but the desire to find pleasure has never decreased.

Jesus has told the Parable of the Great Banquet, “Someone gave a great dinner and invited many. At the time for dinner, the host sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is ready now.’ But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go out and see it; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have bought five yokes of oxen, and I am going to try them out; please accept my regrets.’ Another said, ‘I have just been married, and therefore I cannot come.’ So, the slave returned and reported this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his slave, ‘Go out at once into the streets and lanes of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.'” We have all tried to find the way to achieve life goals with our efforts but have missed the fortunes that were meant for us and have lost the greater blessings. However, for the poor, those who can’t enjoy life due to poverty or disability received happiness from God’s invitation.

In the parable, the initially invited are the Jews, and the new guests are the Gentiles. In our world, those on the list are Christians, and those invited on the street are non-Christians. Generations of some Christian families have forgotten their original intention to follow the Lord and are lost in the abundance of grace. Many had to risk their lives, leave their family and friends, and pay a lot for their faith to believe in Jesus. There’s an old saying in Taiwanese describing the loss of the original faith in the rich grace of Christians, “First-generation is the clear-minded, second is the well-known, third is the foggy, and the fourth is the never bother.”

Where is the happiness that everyone wants to find? Maybe it takes all our strength and a lot of pain to find out that joy is simple. It’s easier to follow God’s will with a pure heart than being driven by a selfish desire. It’s better to rest in God’s blessings than chasing the pride of owning money. May we all find satisfying joy and eternal pleasure in the presence of God.