你最美好的生活：現在抑或以後?Your Best Life: Now or Later?
作者: John MacArthur 節譯者: Maria Marta
出於好奇，我想知道這本書（譯註：約爾．歐斯丁所著的《活出美好》）的內容，於是我翻開閱讀，在第5頁讀到「上帝希望現在就是你生命中最好的時刻。」 在另一頁上寫著：「快樂、成功、充分發揮潛能的人已學會如何活出他們現在最美好的生活。」 在另一頁上寫道：「當你將本書的這些原則应用在生活，就可以活出最好的生活！」 如果你不是基督徒，這些說話絕對是真實的。說得對，你最好購買這本書，因為你下一輩子將比今生糟糕不知多少倍。
現在是你最美好的生活。 事實上，這是你唯一的人生，因為在未來的世界，你只會在沒有希望、沒有滿足、沒有意義、沒有快樂、沒有未來的永恒狀態中生存。 那可能是最可怕的生活。如果你來世生活在地獄裏，現在就是你最美好的生活。
但另一方面，倘若你是上帝的孩子，你的罪得蒙赦免，並且你接受耶穌基督作你的主和救主，那麽現在離你最美好的生活還差得遠。你甚至不能領悟你最美好的生活是什麽樣子，因為「神為愛他的人所預備的，是眼睛未曾看見，耳朵未曾聽見，人心也未曾想到的。」（譯註：林前二9）
與今天受歡迎的看法相反，即使在宗教界，即使在所謂的「宗教界」，即使奉耶穌的名，上帝也不會現在、在這裏應許你會有一個完滿、快樂、富足、滿足，無煩惱的健康、財富、成功的人生。哦，祂確實應許過：絕對...... 完滿、富足、滿足、無煩惱的健康、財富、成功的人生，並且絕對喜樂、平安、完美......但不是現在......應許不是現在就實現。 事實上，在另一方面，我們的主已經應許那些認識祂並且在今生愛祂的人......要經歷麻煩、迫害、拒絕、困難、試煉、試探、痛苦、苦難、悲傷、疾病，甚至肉身死亡。
因此，對基督徒而言，我們最糟糕的生活在當下。這並非說現在很可怕，而是相對於你所思想的最美好的將來的生活，現在的生活是最糟糕的。作為基督徒，你最美好的生活始於今生的終結。幾個世紀以來，基督徒都明白這一點，早期的基督徒當然也明白這一點。 聖經清楚亦表明這一點。 你不能期望上帝對你所作的，天堂上的所有應許都必須在這裏實現。任何明智的基督徒對此都能明白。切勿期望過高，超過今生所能實現的。
Out
of curiosity, I want to know what's in the book and so I found this on page 5,
“God wants this to be the best time of your life.” On another page it says,
“Happy, successful, fulfilled individuals have learned how to live their best
life now. On another page it says, “As you put the principles found in these
pages to work today, you will begin living your best life now.” And that is
absolutely true if you're not a Christian. This is it, you better get the book
because your next life is going to be infinitely worse than this one.
This
is your best life now. In fact, it's your only life because in the world to
come, you will only exist in a perpetual state of dying with no hope, no
satisfaction, no meaning, no joy and no future and no relief from eternal
suffering. That's the worst life possible. And this is your best life, if your
next life is in hell.
But,
on the other hand, if you are a child of God and your sins are forgiven and
you've come to embrace Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, this is not even
close to your best life. You can't even comprehend what your best life looks
like because “Eye hasn't seen, nor has ear heard the things that God has
prepared for them that love Him.”
Contrary
to what is popular today, even in religious circles, even in quote/unquote
religion circles, even in the name of Jesus, the Lord is not promising you here
and now a full, happy, rich, satisfying, trouble-free life of health, wealth
and success. Oh He does promise that. Absolutely...a full, rich, satisfying,
trouble-free life of health and wealth and success and absolute joy and peace
and perfection...but not now...not now. In fact, quite on the other hand, our
Lord has promised to those who know Him and love Him in this life...trouble,
persecution, rejection, difficulty, trials, temptation, pain, suffering,
sorrow, sickness and even physical death.
So,
for Christians, this is our worst life now. It isn't that it's bad, but
comparatively it's the worst when you think about the life to come, which is
the best. Your best life as a Christian begins when this life ends. Christians
through the centuries have understood this, certainly the early Christians
understood it. The Bible makes it clear. You just can't expect all the promises
that God has made to you for heaven to necessarily show up here. Any sensible Christian
understands that. Don't expect more than this life can deliver.