[Darris McNeely] When was the last time you heard something that really made you happy, something that gave you a great deal of joy? Pew Surveys recently did a survey, and they found that actively religious people are much more likely than those who are less religious to describe themselves as very happy. It was a very interesting poll. They did this in other countries as well, found that people in Japan, it held true there. More faith, greater happiness. In Australia, that was one of the bigger gaps right there to show that more people were happy in a group that were with faith and had faith than those that did not. It's interesting. Regardless of what one believes, again, you could look to a nation like Japan, that is not a Christian nation, and then one like America, that is predominantly Christian, and this holds true. 

And I got to thinking about that. How much more joy, how much greater joy might one have if one really knew the full truth of God and His kingdom and the plan and the purpose of God? There's a scripture that I think bears this out. It's in Matthew, chapter 13, talking about the sowing of the seed of the gospel upon different types of ground, the way that it is received by various people. And when it comes to those who receive the Kingdom of God and begin to bear fruit, in verse 20 of Chapter 13 in Matthew, it says, "He who received the seed, which is the seed of the gospel, on stony places, is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy." (Matthew 13:20)

The Word of God, the knowledge of the truth about the Kingdom of God can cause someone who is on a stony piece of ground and what that is really talking about is people who are coming from a background without a lot of faith, where that seed is less likely to bear fruit. But when people receive it, it gives them great joy. The truth of the Kingdom, the truth of God's purpose and His plan of salvation, when you come to know that, that can provide even greater joy. This survey bears out that faith does bring a greater amount of happiness. True faith brings even more. Think about that and seek the Kingdom of God and the true faith of God.

That's BT Daily. Join us next time.