The Pursuit of Joy

Men have pursued joy in every avenue imaginable. Some have successfully found it while others have not. Here are a few examples to describe where joy cannot be found:

• Not in Unbelief: Voltaire was an infidel of the most pronounced type. He wrote: “I wish I had never been born.”

• Not in Pleasure: Lord Byron lived a life of pleasure if anyone did. He wrote: “The worm, the canker, and grief are mine alone.”

• Not in Money: Jay Gould, the American millionaire, had plenty of that. When dying, he said: “I suppose I am the most miserable man on earth.”

• Not in Position and Fame: Lord Beaconsfield enjoyed more than his share of both. He wrote: “Youth is a mistake; manhood a struggle; old age a regret.”

• Not in Military Glory: Alexander the Great conquered the known world in his day. Having done so, he wept in his tent, before he said, “There are no more worlds to conquer.”

Where then is real joy found? The answer is simple: in Christ alone.

—The Bible Friend, Turning Point, May, 1993.