We all want to live happy lives, and we all want to be loved. But the secret to both is a far cry from what the world would have us believe. Jesus points the way to what will give us a joy nothing can take from us.

“I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love...You didn’t choose me, remember; I chose you, and put you in the world to bear fruit, fruit that won’t spoil. As fruit bearers, whatever you ask the Father in relation to me, he gives you. But remember the root command: Love one another." 

(from John 15:9-17, Eugene Peterson's "The Message")