We are called to be holy as He is holy.
Making us holy is God’s unwavering agenda until we are taken home to be with him. He will do whatever he needs to produce holiness in us. He wants us to be a community of joy, but he is willing to compromise our temporal happiness in order to increase our Christlikeness.
How People Change by Timothy S. Lane, Paul David Tripp
We will go through all sorts of trials – depression, loneliness, pain, and suffering – to purify our lives. This is not easy to understand. We see a difference between joy in our both our lives now and in eternity with Christ and the temporary happiness that we seek out in things of this world.