This post is meant to encourage people to see a certain aspect of our culture the way God sees it. If He says He'll give more abundant life, then it makes sense to get that, since it'll be more plentiful, fulfilling, etc. than what we could have without Him, right?
Odd start, I know; it sounds like the middle of one of these posts. It's important, though, because like anything Godly, the devil wants to counterfeit it and try to trick people into following the counterfeit. But don't worry, if you see on my personal blog a similar post it's just me doing one geared toward thankfulness, etc..
"Make the most of life" - the right and wrong way
That societal aspect is wanting to get the most out of life. We hear slogans about it all the time. Of course, we want quality out of life, not just quantity. John 10:10 and other verses promise that Jesus will give us both. This is not just eternal life in Heaven. Eternal life begins right here, at the moment you call on Jesus Christ to save you from your sins, as this explains, and make you new inside. As I discussed in this ministry blog post, people have constant contact through the Internet but it doesn't provide the unconditional love and depth of relationship that a personal relationship with Jesus provides.
The idea of living life to its fullest can be used to make sure one gives all for the glory of God and tries not to miss any chance to glorify Him whether eating, drinking, whatever they do.(1 Cor.10:31). In this way, "making the most out of life" means using that life that we have for Him.
This is an especially understandable motto if you're like me and influenced by several relatives in medical/physical therapy professions who see much suffering and, less often, dying (orthopedists thankfully don't see it as often as nurses). It can certainly be used for good then. It is quite logical to merge "you only live once" - used often online with the hashtag YOLO - into that.
However, this is one of those mottos the devil has counterfeited to a great extent, taking something innocent on its face and turning it into evil.
This is where we must be careful of the devil's wiles, because "You only live once" has been usurped by the devil, as explained by Chris Townsend, to get people to think that they, and not God, have ultimate say in every aspect of their lives. Instead of adding 1 Corinthians 10:31 as a reminder to do all you can to spread the Gospel and show His love through your actions, many take the idea of having but one life to mean one may do whatever they want, in blatant disregard for God and His eternal truths, because they are led to believe there are no consequences to sin.
There are consequences, however, to all sin, including especially the fact that Jesus Christ had to die to take the punishment for our sin.
So, how do we make sure we're on the right path, and looking at that life we have as we should?
To "those who will love life," 1 Peter 3:8-11
Part of this show we at "Quest for Truth" did on connecting with the culture, discussed how 1 Peter 3:10
speaks of those who will love life in a positive way - saying they
should keep their tongue and lips from speaking evil and guile, thus
avoiding lying, gossiping, etc. Indeed, while we didn't have time to exegete it all (one great thing about using this blog), this brings in the previous two verses - on being compassionate, not returning evil for evil, etc - and the next verse, which speaks of doing good and eschewing evil.
So, for us to truly do this, we need to eschew evil.. We need to be the opposite of the coarsening society around us, and "be not conformed to this world" but rather "transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."(Rom.12:2)
So, clearly it is proper to love that eternal life believers are given, if done according to Godly principles - being transformed by the Spirit into someone who values eternal life, not what the world gives. This is especially apparent when we realize 1 Peter aalso warns that one may have to suffer a lot for their faith. Even if someone's lot is not to be martyred - and there are many who are elsewhere in the world - we will all face adversity. Jesus says "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world"(John 16:33). Even if not everyone will be martyred or even horribly persecuted, the devil will fight us, and our own fleshly nature will be a battle, too.
This is where we see the battle form between looking at life the right way and the wrong way. In persecutions and the storms of life, a follower of Christ - even if not horribly persecuted - will lose opportunities from the world's perspective. However, God will give opportunities which are better from an eternal perspective, which is the important one. His opportunities will be ones that earn Eternal Rewards, or which will lead to things that will earn Eternal Rewards.
For example, a man I know, and his wife, didn't have peace about accepting a promotion he was offered to what he thought would be the job of his dreams, so he didn't take it. As it turned out weeks later, had he taken that promotion, he wouldn't have been home nearly as fast and his wife may have bled to death at the end of a difficult pregnancy, and the baby might not have survived; even if he had been home the transfer they'd have had would have mean they'd have been an hour away from a good hospital, not a few minutes like they were. God then gave him a better job a few years later. What a great testimony to God's Spirit working and helping us, as well as to what those aforementioned relatives would say about making every moment matter, family being most important (next to God of course, who as we see here provides for that), etc..
I could go a variety of different directions on this, of course. You can too, I'm sure. That idea of eschewing evil itself is one that isn't practiced much nowadays, as the world becomes worse.And, it's not just because some people are putting jobs, money, and other things ahead of God - at times it's because some people are choosing to follow a life filled with lusts, selfishness, and other sins.
The evils of the world won't last, though. Neitehr will anything in the world, even the best things; Jesus says Heaven and eath will pass away. Jesus promises us something much better with those Eternal Rewards, because they can't grow old, rust out, etc., and nobody can take from from us. And, where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.(Mat.6:19-21)
So, a good part of the secret to loving life is building treasures in Heaven. That's because the life that matters isn't here on Earth.
The Life That Matters Is the Eternal Life God Can Give
The man I mentioned, a follower of Christ, is certainly very grateful that God led him to decline the position and thus probably save his wife and child's lives. However, had he decided on his own to decline it - though such a decision wouldn't have made sense from the world's perspective - he could still say that at least he put his family first, right?
Sure, that's why we have to remember that the life that truly matters is the eternal life God promises to those who trust Him to save them from their sins. Because, without that, we have to suffer for our own sins, and God doesn't want us to have to do that. We could love what we have till we die physically, and it could be somthing like family or relationships or helping others. However, it is by grace - a free gift - we are saved through faith, and "that not of ourselves, if is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."(Eph.2:8-9) In other words, a person who always puts their family first, always cares about others, and all those otehr good thigns is still a sinner in need of a Saviour - if they sinned only 3 times a day that's still over 1,000 a year. Without calling on Jesus and receiving Jesus' free gift of salvation that person would also die spiritually. And, god doesn't want that for anyone; people choose it when they reject Him.
The life Jesus gives that is much more abundant than what we have now. It isn't just the fact God can guide a man to turn down something worldly in order to save his wife and child because He knows the future and we don't. That's just the icing on the cake, the benefit of a personal relationship with God. The main part of that abundant life is that life Jesus Christ gives a person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins. Only when one does this does one have eternal life. He who hath the Son hath life, and he who hath not the Son hath not life.(1 John 5:12) Just living a Godly life is not enough, one must know Christ personally. Eternal is much more special, much more abundant.
Still, part of that life we can love is in how we are living here on Earth, those things we are doing for the Lord, rather than pleasing ourselves. Instead of the evil motto of "do what thou wilt with no care for the things of God," following Godly principles is the way we love life and make the most of it.
Making the Most of Life by Glorifying God
So, for us to truly do this, we need to eschew evil.. We need to be the opposite of the coarsening society around us, and "be not conformed to this world" but rather "transformed, by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God."(Rom.12:2)
So, clearly it is proper to love that eternal life believers are given, if done according to Godly principles - being transformed by the Spirit into someone who values eternal life, not what the world gives. This is especially apparent when we realize 1 Peter aalso warns that one may have to suffer a lot for their faith. Even if someone's lot is not to be martyred - and there are many who are elsewhere in the world - we will all face adversity. Jesus says "In this world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world"(John 16:33). Even if not everyone will be martyred or even horribly persecuted, the devil will fight us, and our own fleshly nature will be a battle, too.
This is where we see the battle form between looking at life the right way and the wrong way. In persecutions and the storms of life, a follower of Christ - even if not horribly persecuted - will lose opportunities from the world's perspective. However, God will give opportunities which are better from an eternal perspective, which is the important one. His opportunities will be ones that earn Eternal Rewards, or which will lead to things that will earn Eternal Rewards.
For example, a man I know, and his wife, didn't have peace about accepting a promotion he was offered to what he thought would be the job of his dreams, so he didn't take it. As it turned out weeks later, had he taken that promotion, he wouldn't have been home nearly as fast and his wife may have bled to death at the end of a difficult pregnancy, and the baby might not have survived; even if he had been home the transfer they'd have had would have mean they'd have been an hour away from a good hospital, not a few minutes like they were. God then gave him a better job a few years later. What a great testimony to God's Spirit working and helping us, as well as to what those aforementioned relatives would say about making every moment matter, family being most important (next to God of course, who as we see here provides for that), etc..
I could go a variety of different directions on this, of course. You can too, I'm sure. That idea of eschewing evil itself is one that isn't practiced much nowadays, as the world becomes worse.And, it's not just because some people are putting jobs, money, and other things ahead of God - at times it's because some people are choosing to follow a life filled with lusts, selfishness, and other sins.
The evils of the world won't last, though. Neitehr will anything in the world, even the best things; Jesus says Heaven and eath will pass away. Jesus promises us something much better with those Eternal Rewards, because they can't grow old, rust out, etc., and nobody can take from from us. And, where our treasure is, there will our heart be also.(Mat.6:19-21)
So, a good part of the secret to loving life is building treasures in Heaven. That's because the life that matters isn't here on Earth.
The Life That Matters Is the Eternal Life God Can Give
The man I mentioned, a follower of Christ, is certainly very grateful that God led him to decline the position and thus probably save his wife and child's lives. However, had he decided on his own to decline it - though such a decision wouldn't have made sense from the world's perspective - he could still say that at least he put his family first, right?
Sure, that's why we have to remember that the life that truly matters is the eternal life God promises to those who trust Him to save them from their sins. Because, without that, we have to suffer for our own sins, and God doesn't want us to have to do that. We could love what we have till we die physically, and it could be somthing like family or relationships or helping others. However, it is by grace - a free gift - we are saved through faith, and "that not of ourselves, if is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast."(Eph.2:8-9) In other words, a person who always puts their family first, always cares about others, and all those otehr good thigns is still a sinner in need of a Saviour - if they sinned only 3 times a day that's still over 1,000 a year. Without calling on Jesus and receiving Jesus' free gift of salvation that person would also die spiritually. And, god doesn't want that for anyone; people choose it when they reject Him.
The life Jesus gives that is much more abundant than what we have now. It isn't just the fact God can guide a man to turn down something worldly in order to save his wife and child because He knows the future and we don't. That's just the icing on the cake, the benefit of a personal relationship with God. The main part of that abundant life is that life Jesus Christ gives a person who puts their faith in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins. Only when one does this does one have eternal life. He who hath the Son hath life, and he who hath not the Son hath not life.(1 John 5:12) Just living a Godly life is not enough, one must know Christ personally. Eternal is much more special, much more abundant.
Still, part of that life we can love is in how we are living here on Earth, those things we are doing for the Lord, rather than pleasing ourselves. Instead of the evil motto of "do what thou wilt with no care for the things of God," following Godly principles is the way we love life and make the most of it.
Making the Most of Life by Glorifying God
We use our talents, abilities, and opportunities to glorify
Him and to share His love with others. This is something those who do
not have eternal life can't do. They can only glorify themselves, and if
they give glory to God it is not because He is their savior, it is
because they are simply paying lip service or believing in some vague
force and not in who God is, a personal God who must punish sin but has
done so by taking the punishment for our sin, dying on the cross for each of us and rising from the dead.
So, adding some of these talents and abilities to 1 Corinthians 10:31, one can see that whether you are a public speaker, writer, performer, or anything else, that should be used to glorify God.
This is how we can have life more abundantly here, not just
in Heaven. It also brings those verses from 1 Peter and the exhortation
to build treasures in Heaven into things.(It's neat how the Bible comes
together like that - four different books written by different people
in different places. The Bible is internally consistent when you look at
the context of everything, because God the Holy Spirit inspired the
writers to write it, He just used each individual person's personality
and style. It's just like a child colors with a crayon, the child is
creating but that crayon is using its individual hue.)
So, if, for instance, a performer is singing, acting, or
whatever in some secular role, they can still glorify God by being light
in the darkness. They can choose never to use lyrics that are vulgar or
suggestive, but instead ones that uplift. They can encourage things
like those things we should think on in Philippians 4:8.(Focus on a song's words forward, not how some used to talk of stuff backwards or even the type, things which distract from the real issue. Frank Sinatra's "My Way" may be the most often quoted secular song by pastors - in sermons on false pride - and it doesn't even have a guitar.) They can make
sure the focus is on God and what He can do, not on themselves. They
can, in other words, eschew evil.
Why is that important? Those who try to have everything for
themselves are never satisfied. They can't find fulfillment and so they
keep trying to find it in pleasure, sometimes drugs, and usually in
things that glorify themselves. However, if they are never satisfied,
they are truly getting the most out of life, are they? They know
something is missing, but not what.
This is the way the devil feeds them. It's a lie that says
that they can please themselves with no consequences and that will be sufficient. They might
trick themselves into thinking they will be happy if it's always all
about them and what they can get. However, they wind up not being happy and that sin has consequences, all the way to a devil's Hell if one doesn't trust Jesus Christ by faith by calling on Him to forgive them for their sins and make them new inside.
So, to love life, focus on the right kind - make sure you have made that choice to accept Christ's free gift of salvation by calling on Him by faith to save you. Then, live for Him, so you can have Him work in you and give you that fulfillment.
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