Aren't we all just supposed to be happy?

Do you remember that verse in the Bible where Jesus told His followers, "I just came here to make everyone happy..."  Neither do we!  That's really not what this is about is it... And yet, there are so many voices out there trying to tell us to do the things that just make us happy, comfortable, and feel good.

What does Jesus tell us?

"The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10b, LSB), and "Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (Matthew 5:10, LSB).  And Jesus' followers later affirmed these things in saying, "Through many afflictions we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:22b).  In this life, following Jesus isn't about being comfortable and happy, and oftentimes it doesn't feel good.  Just because something doesn't feel good, doesn't mean that it isn't good.

Having a speck in your eye doesn't feel good, but that pain also helps us to seek out the source of the problem, so that the dirt doesn't act like sandpaper to our eye and cause us eye damage.  The feeling certainly isn't good but it's good to know that there's something wrong with our eye!

In this week's episode of Full Quiver Parenting, we discuss the difference between happiness and blessing.  What does that look like as followers of Jesus and how does it apply to parenting and family life as Christians?