Progress Brings You Happiness

As the weather gets warmer, many people are throwing poolside parties. It reminds me of a story about a Texas billionaire who threw a poolside party on a hot summer day. He had a couple of pet sharks in his pool swimming back and forth, so the guests were fascinated by the sharks and, at the same time, tried to stay away from the poolside.

After all the guests had arrived, the host picked up the microphone and announced,

“Ladies and gentlemen, I have a special announcement to make. Here’s my beautiful daughter, you all know. She is now at the age to choose a partner for life. I want my future son-in-law to be a man of courage. So, today, I have a challenge for all the men in the crowd. Anyone who dares to swim across the pool and get to the other side alive will get my daughter’s hands. But, don’t worry! If either of you thinks you are not a good match, I will give him a million dollars in cash for his courage to swim with the sharks.”

Suddenly, splash! A young man dove into the pool and swam across the pool swiftly. He got to the other side safely, jumped out of the pool, and looked at the crowd as if he was searching for someone. 

The crowd cheered for his courage, and the host asked him, “Young man, you are a true hero. Tell me what you want—the hands of my daughter or a million dollars in cash?”

The man kept scanning the crowd with a stern face without paying attention to the host. So, he asked again, “Young man, what do you want?”

He said in an angry tone, “I want … I want to know who pushed me into the pool!”

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Life is somewhat like a shark tank. The moment we are born, we are in this pool. The only way to survive is to swim to the other end swiftly and safely. There’s no use finding out who pushed you into this pool. The best attitude is to treat life as an opportunity and enjoy the swim.

Of course, life is not as dramatic as swimming in a shark tank. This story tries to depict a truth about life: the only way to find happiness in this life is to move forward and make progress. Don’t just take my word for it, but you can experiment with this truth. When are you really happy: during stagnation or progress?

Life is also like a stream of water. A flowing stream carries clean water, and a stagnant pool becomes stinky. So, don’t ask who pushed you into the water, but ask if you are making progress. Maybe the sharks are not there to eat you as long as you are moving forward.

Of course, not all progress makes you happy. Only meaningful progress brings true satisfaction. In fact, Jesus revealed that he wants us to make progress doing the meaningful works as he did. He says,

“Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father.” (John 14:12).

Doing “greater works” than he did might sound challenging, but not so if you understand that he means progress. The word “greater” is translated from Greek, “μείζονα,” meaning “greater, farther, growing, expanding, progressing.” So, Jesus is not talking about you will do mightier work than he did, but you will proliferate or propagate what he has started.

If this verse makes you anxious, you interpret it wrong because, in the context, he said he left peace with you. Progress will bring you peace. Progress is also the nature of a believer. He says, if you are a believer, you will do the works he did.

His life is also a progression of works, from teaching a small audience to a large crowd, from small miracles to raising Lazarus from the dead, from making small sacrifices to giving his life on the cross. It’s always growing, expanding, and progressing.

Jesus gave many parables revealing the kingdom of God is a progress. He said that the kingdom of God is like a mustard seed that germinates and grows into a fruitful tree. He gave many parables like this. The kingdom of God is the place of ultimate happiness, and only progress will take you there.

So, he expects you to make progress in doing meaningful works as he did. Today, we have over two billion believers around the world. Believers have fed more homeless than ever before. Believers have built more hospitals than ever before. Believers have built more schools than ever before. We can go on and on to see how believers have made progress.

How about you? Are you part of this progress? Progress glorifies God, and when God is glorified, you are satisfied. That’s how we are created. In other words, like it or not, you are in the shark tank. Swim or die! Don’t ask who pushed you in; you are already in. Enjoy the swim and focus on the great prize you have been promised.

The good news is Jesus does not just reveal to us that progress brings you happiness, but he promises to give you a hand to make sure you get to the other end of the pool safely. So, today, let’s explore how Jesus planned to help you make progress by doing greater works based on this week’s scripture lesson. Let’s begin!