The search for happiness within the framework of materiality must inevitably fail. The reason is simple. Happiness is not the product of material conditions. Joy, the Apostle Paul declared, is included in the fruits of the Spirit. Happiness is controlled not by material personalities, but by divine Principle, God. It is not created by human will or conveyed by the corporeal senses; it is imparted through spiritual sense. Therefore happiness can be found only within the realm of Spirit.
For those who have sought happiness and have failed to find it, these words of Christ Jesus are most significant (John 16: 24): "Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full." Jesus clearly points the way to that complete happiness we all seek. The starting point is God and the Christ, God's true idea, which reveals man in His likeness. To progress on the way to happiness requires scientific prayer, based on the spiritual understanding of God and man.
Christian Science teaches that God is Mind, Spirit, Soul. He is the source of all happiness. Ever-present Spirit, God, is the substance of all real joy; thus happiness expresses the vitality and inexhaustibility of Spirit. Soul is radiant with joy, permeating all consciousness with its gladness.
