What is a Bountiful Life?
We often hear the saying, “It is not
the length of a person’s life that matters, but its quality.” The speaker may
not be a Christian, because when it comes to the discussion of the quality of
life, different religions all have their own perception and interpretation.
Other religions as well will teach people to abandon the worldly, seek truth,
and use life wisely. For example, Master Sheng Yen of Dharma Drum Mountain also
teaches people to seek spiritual preservation, using the perspective and method
of transcendental meditation to elevate human quality, so that enlightenment
and Buddhadharma may be achieved. (Spiritual preservation is the central
tenet of Dharma Drum Mountain) Even amongst Buddhists there are those who know
how to use modern language to explain what a “Bountiful Life” is.
We should clearly understand what the
Bible means by a bountiful life. Even new believers will perhaps understand that a
“Bountiful Life” does not mean a life of plenty, for Jesus Christ told us, “A
man’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15) In
another word, a full
life does not mean living in bounty. Therefore, we are able to determine the
fallacy of the Wealth and Health Gospel taught by some preachers. Yet even many
within the so-called evangelical churches do not truly understand what a
“Bountiful Life” signifies.
Christ said, “I have
come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd.
The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11) This
reveals the great sacrificial love of the Son of God that redeemed and saved
us, so that our souls will not perish but have the life of God. And once we
gain this life, we need to grow and mature into
the fullness of Christ’s image so that bountiful life will then be manifested.
According to the Gospel of John, Christ twice called to
those who are spiritually thirsty to come to Him and receive the living water
He bestows. Christ said to the Samaritan woman who was spiritually parched and
whose life was a mess, “Everyone who drinks this
water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never
thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13-14) At the Feast of Tabernacles
when Jews congregated in large numbers, “Jesus stood and said in a loud voice,
‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as
the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By
this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were later to
receive.” (John 7:37-39) Christ said this so that the words of the Prophet
Isaiah may be fulfilled: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and
streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your offspring, and my
blessing on your descendants.” (Isaiah 44:3)
From the foregoing passages, we see that God
really wishes that we will draw life from Him, just as the thirsty will drink
water to quench their thirst. God also gladly bestows His life to those who
trust and rely on Him. The life of God does not merely refer to eternity in
time (meaning eternal life), but also to the quality of life - that Godly character
manifested when people are filled and supervised by the Holy Spirit. Therefore,
when Christ spoke of a full life, He meant our receiving of the Holy Spirit
because we believed in Him. We must work with the indwelling Holy Spirit, not
follow our own desires and sin, but live according to His guidance and
teaching. Then we will bear bountiful fruit. “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23) That
is the meaning of a bountiful life in the Bible. Not only that, if we “sow to
please the Spirit, from the Spirit (we) will reap eternal life.” (Galatians
6:8) God wishes that those of us who have the Holy Spirit will enjoy a full
life in this life, and will also be bountiful in eternity.
By: Daniel To