사도행전

2025 02 16
[진정한 행복]
사도행전 17:18,27 찬송가 435

사도행전 17:
18 어떤 에피쿠로스와 스토아 철학자들도 바울과 쟁론할새 어떤 사람은 이르되 이 말쟁이가 무슨 말을 하고자 하느냐 하고 어떤 사람은 이르되 이방 신들을 전하는 사람인가보다 하니 이는 바울이 예수와 부활을 전하기 때문이러라
27 이는 사람으로 혹 하나님을 더듬어 찾아 발견하게 하려 하심이로되 그는 우리 각 사람에게서 멀리 계시지 아니하도다 (개역개정)

[True Happiness 진정한 행복]

One of our deepest instincts is the pursuit of personal happiness. Even in the first century AD, people were engaged in similar pursuits as we are today.

Paul engaged with the Epicureans and Stoics, discussing how true happiness is inherently connected to the God we believe in.

The Epicureans insisted that happiness is the absence of pain and fear, including the fear of gods, which is achieved by practising 'ataraxia' (ἀταραξία), meaning a state of serene calmness or peace of mind. Epicurus sought happiness with his students by contemplating theoretical concepts of happiness, emphasizing the pursuit of serenity even amidst pain. Similarly, Viktor Frankl, enduring the harsh realities of a Nazi concentration camp, imagined his wife and found solace in those thoughts. [1]

On the other hand, Stoics argued that happiness is attained through virtue and peace of mind by practicing 'logos' (λόγος), which refers to reason, or the order of the cosmos. They believed that happiness lies in accepting one’s fate and maintaining inner peace regardless of external circumstances. [2]

Both philosophies may seem somewhat cryptic, and the pursuit of happiness might appear overly complicated. However, we are no different from those who embraced these ancient philosophies.

In the Bible, it is said, ‘God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us’ (Acts 17:27). This statement suggests that our struggle should not be to find happiness itself but to seek God, who is already near if we believe in ‘Jesus and the resurrection’ (Acts 17:18). [3] However, both philosophies regard God as distant rather than accessible through belief in Jesus.

Yet, we may still wonder what kind of happiness is available when we have faith in Jesus. The answer is found in the Beatitudes: ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God’ (Matthew 5:8). We are not pure in heart when we attempt to grasp happiness through these practices or by merely accepting our fate in unhappy conditions, but through faith in Jesus, God reveals to us what real happiness is. We continually repent to God, and through Jesus, we come to understand the nature of true happiness.
Woo Guhyeon
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1)https://www.pursuit-of-happiness.org/...
2)https://modernstoicism.com/happiness-...
3)οὐ μακρὰν ἀπὸ, not far from, cf. Mark 12:34, I can suggest it as one has already known God if one believes in Jesus.

Prayer
O God, you instruct us by your Holy Scriptures- we urge you by your grace to enlighten our minds and cleanse our hearts; that reading, hearing, and meditating upon them, we may rightly understand and heartily embrace the things you have revealed in them. Give efficacy to the reading of the gospel in your Word, that through the operation of the Holy Spirit, this holy seed may be received into our hearts as into good ground; and that we may not only hear your Word but keep it, living in conformity with your precepts; so that we may finally attain everlasting salvation, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Waldensian Liturgy, quoted in Jonathan Gibson, O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Wheaton: Crossway, 2023), p. 387.

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