John 10:10

Dawn

John 10:10T he thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full

A friend of mine quoted this and applied it to life "right now" - her application was that Jesus meant for people to enjoy life now - not always putting off for the future - but to have joy, peace, etc in this life. This life is a gift in itself. Satan tries to ruin that in numerous ways - even convincing people to sacrifice everything good in this life for the next in hopes of gaining a reward.

What are your thoughts?

Leolaia

From my meagre knowledge of the gospel of John, I suspect the verse is talking not about quality of life but Jesus as a source of eternal life. This is one of the central themes in the gospel.

Dawn

Damn! I like the quality of life interpretation better ;)

Markfromcali

Well if you want to go there we can also talk in terms of this moment right now. It reminds me of the thing about the bride/bridegroom with the oils and the lamps and whatnot, and the understanding there being to be awake and conscious. In this case enjoying life now, in this moment, would be to be awake to it, consciously experiencing it. The thief would steal, kill, destroy, maim and all that in so far as experience of life (or lack of it) is concerned.

I suspect a lot of it would make a lot more sense and include both perspectives if people looked at it impersonally. Any views can only be through that person there called you anyway - but chances are I guess Christians don't want to go there, and people who might take issue with Christianity wouldn't have much to work with, and that's just no fun.

SusanHere

Like many scripture verses, it means both the future (heaven) and the present (mortality). We are meant to be happy here, to have joy here, to take delight in all things good, and to encourage others to do the same. This life is a gift and a blessing.

SusanHere

(of the no doom or gloom class)

Farkel

: John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full

: A friend of mine quoted this and applied it to life "right now" - her application was that Jesus meant for people to enjoy life now - not always putting off for the future - but to have joy, peace, etc in this life. This life is a gift in itself. Satan tries to ruin that in numerous ways - even convincing people to sacrifice everything good in this life for the next in hopes of gaining a reward.

: What are your thoughts?

It puts to rest the old saying we used to use: "Being a Jehovah's Witness is being part of the HARDEST religion in the world." Sort of puts "living a life to the full" in a whole different light, doesn't it? It also makes Jesus a liar if JW life is to be accepted as the way God wants us to be.

Jesus could have been more clever had he only said, "let the good times roll!" and let us live our pathetic lives and make our pathetic mistakes and die our pathertic deaths. Religion has to enter into the picture and add more pathetic events in our lives, as if there weren't enough of them already.

Farkel

El blanko

A very negative guy I associate with who is a wanna-be JW, tells me how this life is about suffering and dwells upon negativity almost constantly. He drags a dark cloud around with him and likes to refer to scriptural accounts that basically depress.

Well, I was sitting on the loo this morning (my throne of reason) thinking about this chap and also reflecting upon my own knowledge of the Christian faith and I recalled Galatians chapter 5 which we all know refers to the fruits of the spirit.

If you believe in spirit and are carried by it then the fruits are supposed to be:

Love - Joy - Peace - Patience - Goodness - Kindness - Faithfulness - Gentleness - Self Control.

To me, those qualities portray a certain mentality and approach to life and while the Christian is mindful of future hopes, surely the point is to put these qualities into action now and stop being so flippin' miserable about the state of the world and get on with enoying life.

I may have to have a quiet word with my friend.

There is nothing wrong at all with enjoying aspects of this life now!

Annanias

Agreed. Life is to be enjoyed as much as humanly possible. But be mindful of the Marie Antoinette syndrome.

Elsewhere

Satan tries to ruin that in numerous ways - even convincing people to sacrifice everything good in this life for the next in hopes of gaining a reward.

Odd... JWs always told me that it is better to suffer in this life so you may live in paradise. This is why they let people bleed to death. This is they they ignore abuse. This is why they quit good jobs to pioneer. This is why they with get fired so they can go to a convention. This is why they don't go to college. This is why they drop out of high-school to pioneer.

LittleToe

There's a balance to be struck between "taking up the cross", having "joy" even in tribulation, and enjoying life without fear and anxiety for the future.

Personally I despise the "prosperity gospel" (that states that being a Christian will cause your every whim of prayer to be answered, regarding health, wealth and bodily comfort), but I also believe that some Christians bring undue trouble on themselves by being arrogant, rude, and generally obnoxious.

IMHO the passage speaks of inner life that has benefits in the here-and-now.

John 10:10

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