Life

[Daily verse and quote]

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants

what must soon take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John….”

Revelation 1:1

 

Life is the future, not the past.

- Terry Goodkind

Naturally, God Speaks

[JohnR7]

2 hours ago, Daily verse and quote said:

Life is the future, not the past.

Actually, life is the moment we live in. I am not so sure we have a past or a future, at least not one we agree on. My wife and I do not agree on what happened in the past and what is going to happen in the future. She has her version and I have mine. 

[AdHoc]

9 hours ago, Daily verse and quote said:

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants

what must soon take place.

He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John….”

Revelation 1:1

 

Life is the future, not the past.

- Terry Goodkind

Naturally, God Speaks

"Life" in the Bible can mean two things:

1. Vitality - the intrinsic ability to experience and consider intelligently
2. The enjoyment of experiencing one's environment.

A tree has life but no ability to appreciate it. An ant has life but it can not go outside of its instincts. A dog has life and can experience joy and misery and anger. A man can go beyond his instincts and feelings and reason things. He can appreciate a broader palate than his dog. Both like steak but the dog has no enjoyment in the opera. Then, at the top of the list of vitality is God's life. The experience of this life brings man into the appreciation of divine things. It is this life that enables us to rejoice in, and fear God.

Then, we have "life" as one charts a course in an environment of the vitality. A man has a hard day at the factory. He returns home to a loving welcome by his wife. He showers and puts on comfy clothes. He sits down on his deck overlooking a pond and his wife hands him an ice-cold beer. His bills are paid and his family is healthy. As he considers all this, he might turn to his wife and say; "This is the LIFE".

He does not mean his heart beating, his blood flowing and thoughts that he is thinking. He means the way he appreciates his environment. And so it is in scripture. We have a set of scriptures that promise God's eternal "vitality" as an intrinsic quality of our being, e.g, 2nd Peter 1:4. This means that the vitality coursing through our being has come from God. It is a free gift and it enable s us to be in the image and likeness of God. It enables us to manage our affairs like God would.

And if the man with eternal life is given a duty to carry out, he will carry it through like God. If he is told to rule a city this life IN him will create a benign and fair rule that causes safety, health and long life to his subjects. They will be able, at the end of a satisfying day, sit down and say; "This is the LIFE"! Do they POSSESS eternal life? NO! Only the ruler has this LIFE. But the outworking of the one who HAS LIFE is that those who don't HAVE LIFE can still enjoy the environment it creates - the environment of LIFE.

In the Bible there are those who HAVE LIFE. And when those who have life rule one day, the others will INHERIT LIFE. To HAVE eternal life is by FAITH. To INHERIT Life one must behave a certain way of life. It does not help a wit if the ruler is good but you are in jail. In Jail there is no loving wife and cold beer. You cannot enjoy your dog, the deck and your fishing rod. You have to EARN LIFE. To HAVE life you must believe. To ENTER or INHERIT life you must work hard, pay your bills, be faithful to your wife and be disciplined in daily affairs.

And so the Bible presents LIFE as a crucial intrinsic element to be had by FAITH (John' gospels). The other three gospels present the Kingdom of Heaven - a state ON EARTH where men might enjoy the rule and management of men and women who have God's Life - state called LIFE. That is, the Kingdom is a certain LIFE

[Sower]

2 hours ago, AdHoc said:

"Life" in the Bible can mean two things:

1.  
2. The enjoyment of experiencing one's environment.

Vitality - the intrinsic ability to experience and consider intelligently  

Ecclesiastes 5:18-20   "This is what I have seen to be good: It is fitting to eat and drink and find enjoyment in all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life, which God has given to him; for this is his reward.  And also everyone to whom God has given wealth and possessions, and given him power to enjoy them, and to receive his reward and to rejoice in his labor—this is the gift of God.  For he will not much remember the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with joy in his heart"

[Daily verse and quote]

You have spoken very wisely.🙌 May God continue to guide you through each day as you stay close to Him.

[missmuffet]