In the foregoing messages we have covered the definition of the jubilee and the blessings of the jubilee. Now we shall begin to consider the living of the jubilee. By the living of the jubilee we mean the kind of life that lives in the jubilee. As we shall see, this is a life of resting in the good land (Lev. 25:10-12; Matt. 11:28; Phil. 4:5-7, 9) and of enjoying the riches of the good land (Lev. 25:19-22; Luke 15:23; 1 Cor. 5:8; Eph. 3:8; Phil. 1:19; 2 Cor. 12:9; 13:14).
Before we consider these two aspects of living in the jubilee, I would like to give a further word concerning man’s fall. The Bible reveals clearly that man has become fallen. According to God’s purpose, man was made to contain God and express Him. In order for man to fulfill this purpose, it was necessary for man to take God in as his life and then continue to enjoy God as his life supply. Only by taking God as life and enjoying God as his life supply can man live a life to express God. As we have often pointed out in other messages, this is the clear revelation in the Bible as a whole.
Instead of fulfilling God’s purpose, the man created by God was seduced by God’s enemy and carried away from God’s purpose. Man sinned against God and became fallen.
Unbelievers, of course, do not have a clear understanding of man’s fall and its result. Even many Christians who are clear about man’s fall do not have an adequate understanding of the issue, or the result, of the fall. Therefore, we need to be impressed with the fact that the issue of man’s fall involves two things: first, man’s losing of God; second, man’s falling into bondage, slavery, captivity. Throughout the history of mankind, man has been without God and has been in bondage. For thousands of years man has been in slavery, having lost God as his possession. This is true of every people, race, country, and nation.
Those, especially young people, who are struggling to enjoy life may dream that one day there will be heaven on earth, that a time is coming when there will be a Utopia. I once had this kind of dream, but I woke up from it and realized that human life is filled with all kinds of suffering. Those who are married have problems, but those who are not married may have just as many problems, if not more. As far as problems and sufferings are concerned, it is difficult to say whether it is better to be married or unmarried. Because believers are eager to learn how to have a happy married life, books on marriage are popular in Christian book stores. Surely any married person, knowing the problems of married life, would like to know how to have a happy marriage. The young people, however, do not know how many problems there can be in married life. I mention this to give one example of the sufferings in human life.
Another example is the problem caused by riches. Those who desire to be rich may not realize that riches can cause trouble. I know of a certain brother who has become quite rich in the past twenty years, but his riches have caused him great suffering. Because of the trouble and sufferings brought about by wealth, many rich people do not have a long life. They are exhausted and weakened by their riches.
Recently I read an article in the newspaper about a Chinese man who was once the president of a college in China. This man is now one hundred years of age. When he reached the age of one hundred, many of his former students held a feast in honor of his birthday. During the feast he said that he thanked God that he was not a rich man, because if he had been wealthy, he would never have lived to reach the age of one hundred. According to his understanding, the lack of riches was an important factor in his living to the age of one hundred.
The point we are making is that human life is a life of suffering. Both riches and poverty are causes of suffering. Those who are poor may have anxiety, but those who are rich may have even more anxiety.
Another kind of human suffering is that experienced by those who are the leaders of countries. The president or head of a country must bear a very heavy burden, a burden much greater than that borne by an ordinary person. Anyone who is not in good health should not seek a high political office because the pressure on him will be great. This is another illustration of the fact that human life is a life of suffering.