Keatyn’s Lesson on Happiness
In my novel “Keatyn’s Journey,” the protagonist, Keatyn Griffin, starts off as a miserable, hateful, and selfish person. She has allowed her past hurts to mold her into a person she no longer recognizes. Despite this, she is unable or unwilling to let go of the hatred that rules her heart. Tragedy sends her home to Pensacola Beach. This is where she meets Gareth Davenport, a determined preacher who knows what it is to face life’s struggles.
When Keatyn agreed to a Bible study with Gareth, all she wanted was to learn how to be happy. However, Gareth was more interested in teaching her about God. He believed that if she turned her heart over to her Heavenly Father, she would find the happiness she longed for.
He asked Keatyn if she believed in God. When she said yes, he then asked why she thought Christ died.
Let’s turn to Romans 5:8:
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Keatyn acknowledged that God loves her, but she still felt abandoned.
Gareth turns to John 16:33:
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
He reminds her that we will experience suffering in this world, but that does not mean God has abandoned us or does not love us.
God’s LOVE
In our lives, we must understand that love is the driving force of all life, especially the Christian life.
Why?
Because of the example we have from our Creator. From the beginning, we see God’s love.
We were created in His own image (Gen. 1:26-27, 2:7)
Everything that He created for us, and gave to us showed his abundant and absolute perfect love.
(Gen. 1:27-31)
He provided everything we would ever need.
Gave us the right to the tree of life.
Surrounded us with unmatched beauty. Gave us dominion.
Fellowshipped with us, walked with us, and loved us as His own!
Even in the Garden, when we turned away from Him, rejected Him, and sinned against Him, God showed his great Love, Mercy, and Grace by not striking man dead then and there.
Think about it: before the foundations of the world were laid, you and I were on the mind of God! He loved us, spared us, and made provision for us!
Again, have you ever wondered Why?
Why does God love us?
1 John 4:8 explains … because God is love.
Stop and bask in that for a moment!
God loves us … because God is love!
He doesn’t love us because of our looks, our intellect, our health, our wealth, or anything else that we have or possess.
God loves us because He is love. Not because of anything special on our part.
And God’s love was not merely a feeling of love toward us. In fact, feelings without action is not love! “Herein is love” – God sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. God did something for our problem.
Make no mistake about it—we had a sin problem and were rightfully condemned! God did what we could not do: He atoned, made reconciliation, brought us back into fellowship with Him, bought us back from the evil one, and paid sin’s wages! God did what was needed! God did not do what He needed. God did what we needed. God provided Blood sacrifice, Blood Atonement!
The cross of Jesus is the model of love!
Love is not what television and movies show. What the world presents as love is a shallow counterfeit of what God says is true love.
Read what John says next in verse 1Jn. 4:11.
“Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
We are to show others the love that was shown on the cross, real love. Jesus is the model we are to follow.
Notice the word “ought” in verse 11. We ought to love others since this is the way God loved us.
Ought is an interesting word because it speaks not only to obligation but also to purpose. Birds ought to fly. Fish ought to swim. The sun ought to be bright and hot. These things are given a purpose to fulfill. Love is our purpose! Love is what we were created to do.
We miss our purpose when we do not love God and others as we should! We are like a fish trying to walk when we do not love. Without love, we deny what we are created for. We are not functioning in accord with our purpose.
Do we see what God is telling us? We were not created to love ourselves! We were created to love God and one another. This is our purpose and mission: to have the kind of love that God demonstrated, the love that Jesus modeled on the cross.
Back to Keatyn’s Study
Keatyn agreed with Gareth. She understands that God loves her more than she could even comprehend.
Gareth knows that Keatyn is holding hatred near to her heart. He understands that she has not forgiven her father, Myles Griffin, for the loss of her mother.
Gareth declares that God’s love is so great that He suffered the loss of His Son on the cross, which teaches us about forgiveness.
Keatyn wasn’t sure what he meant.
Gareth explains that forgiveness is a sort of loss. He tells Keatyn she has to lose her feelings against those she thinks wronged her so she can have them back in her life.
This is when Keatyn became very emotional and ended the Bible study.
What about real life? What about you and me? Are we holding on to a grudge or a seed of hatred that has caused us to lose sight of who we really are? Has it made us angry?
If you answered yes, then it must be dealt with. Keatyn had a choice, and so do we.
We can choose to follow Jesus’ example and show love, kindness, and forgiveness, or we can hold onto that seed of hatred. We can wallow in our disgruntled and unhappy state until the very end. It’s up to each individual.
For me, I choose happiness. I choose to wake up with a smile and a light heart.
What about you?
Go back through the verses we just covered and read them slowly. Bask in what they mean. Then, determine to be happy. To be a loving individual who puts others before self.
This will change your life.
It did mine.
*originally published September 21, 2024