The Christmas holiday has been such a sweet one filled with peace. Our home flowed with little voices precious requests, whines, and demands all from the same small people.
As I watched my grown children interact with their little ones I noticed both my son and daughter seemed really unhappy. Not unhappy in a circumstantial sense in which they wanted different lives, but more an unhappiness as a result of the life battle. The regularness of life had set in and the result was malaise.
Joseph Campbell, the 20th century mythologist, said this, “If you do follow your bliss you put yourself on a kind of track that has been there all the while, waiting for you, and the life that you ought to be living is the one you are living. Follow your bliss and don’t be afraid, and doors will open where you didn’t know they were going to be.”
Though I have always thought Campbell to be full of empty sweet sounding platitudes of epic dysentery proportions, the looks on my children’s faces brought up the idea of Campbell’s Bliss.
What does it look like for a Christian to live out his bliss?
1 Peter 1: 3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade away, kept in heaven for you, 5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now, if for a little while, you have had to suffer various trials, 7 in order that the genuineness of your faith, which is more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tried by fire, may be found to result in praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom, having not seen, you love; and in whom, though you do not see Him now, you believe and you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, 9 receiving as the result of your faith the salvation of your souls.
What could be more bliss-filled than 1) abundant mercy, 2) living hope, 3) an incorruptible and undefiled inheritance that does not fade, 4) kept in heaven, 5) being protected but he power of God, 6) enabled to greatly rejoice (even through suffering), 7) genuine faith more precious than gold, 8) being able to praise, glory, honor, and love our God, 9) rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory because of 10) we have faith that has resulted in the salvation of our souls? In spite of all of these assets of following Christ how can we still be mired down in malaise? It is so easy!
The tyranny of everyday life reminds me of the words of my grandson, “We get one more Christmas, right?” What he meant was that he wanted 1 more toy.
I asked him, “Which do you like better getting toys or playing with the toys you have received?”
He replied with, “I always like getting the toys more than playing with them.”
This attitude is typical of many of us. Being satisfied with our everyday of lives is the key to finding our bliss. Being satisfied with the provisions of Christ to live our daily lives is the power, the fuel, to digging through the rubble moments of arguments, disappointments, stresses, strained relationships, etc. to discover the anti-moments of these negativities with true gratitude that is the Bliss of Jesus Christ.
Our Bliss is a Person, His character lived out in us. Our Bliss is His presence, His power alive in us.
Our Bliss is the Child born in the manger long ago.
Let us celebrate this Bliss in our everyday lives through gratitude in the most benign tick-tocks of life.
Mind over things that matter 