One of my grandchildren usually is anything but shy. From the time he was very small, he would dance or recite something when asked.
Rarely we would be unsuccessful in getting him to do the things we requested. It was on these occasions that he would just stand silent and still. After a minute or two of coaxing and urging, he would motion for someone to come over, and then he would whisper, "It's a secret."
Many years ago the Apostle Paul shared the secret to life. He was in the Greek city of Athens, standing in the marketplace, were he uttered the words that caught the attention of bystanders.
The people listening that day included the philosophers of the era, men who were used to expressing their views on happiness and the secret to life. Many of their beliefs still are prevalent today.
There was the "eat, drink and be merry" crowd, and there were those who taught that we can find happiness by living in accord with nature. However, many were curious about this man's beliefs. Paul then led them from the marketplace to Mars Hill where philosophers would sit and share their views.
It was there that Paul uttered ten simple words. None of these words were big, the largest having only five letters, but to Paul they expressed the essence of life.
Paul's words found in Acts 17:28 were: "In Him we live, and move, and have our being."
The "Him" that Paul was referring to was Jesus. The living, moving, and being he spoke of was the relationship he had with this Jesus.
If you have been searching for happiness, but your search has taken you to all the wrong places, consider Paul's 10 words: "In Him we live, and move, and have our being."
This man, Jesus, did come to earth so that we could have "life, and have it abundantly." He is in the business of changing lives, bringing happiness, forgiving our sins and providing not only life abundantly on this earth, but life eternal.
Many of us would love to have led the life of Sean Connery. The tall, handsome Connery played 007 in the early James Bond movies. Many of us look at his life as exciting and glamorous. When asked in an interview about why he continued to act, he gave a surprising reply: "Because I get the opportunity to be somebody better and more interesting than I am."
It is human nature for many of us to feel like Connery. Our lives are not all that they could be, and something is missing.
Only Christ can make a person's life what it can be, should be and must be, if we are to know the real secret to life.
Messinger is the pastor at Cedar Run Baptist Church.
