The Abundant Life

Chuckle: Sign in the front yard of a Funeral Home: "Drive carefully. We'll wait."

Quote: “Identify God’s emissaries By the light in their eyes, By the lilt in their song, By the glow of their skin And the joy within.” --Elias Penn-Smith

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (fully)" (John 10:10 KJV).

Is your life all that God would have it to be? The messages being sent to us by the world's media (television, billboards, tabloids, etc.), try to convince you and me that we can find fulfillment and happiness if only we adopt the world's standard of morality for our marriages, our career advancement, raising our children, or pursuing personal pleasure.

If you or I believe this, we will never experience life's fullness and blessings that our Lord intends for us. It's sad and tragic to heed the messages of the world instead of the One who created life and wants us to experience life to its fullest.

That's what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Satan convinced them that by disobeying God they would find the good life. But, instead, for the rest of their lives they experienced only a fraction of the blessings and fulfillment God had intended for them.

Our Lord desires that you live with a feeling of absolute security and safety, with the assurance that you're a beloved child of God. It is also his desire that you experience love, joy, and peace. If you are not experiencing such a life, you have settled for much less than God planned for you.

In our passage, Jesus is contrasting his giving of life with the thief who takes and destroys life. The life he gives right now is abundantly rich and full. It is life that will last for eternity, but begins the moment you trust Christ as Savior and Lord. Life in Christ is lived on a higher plane because of his overflowing forgiveness, love, and guidance through his Word and the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Let's join together and stop making excuses for not experiencing the abundant life. Let's decide today to settle for nothing less than God's very best for our lives. Let's stop living by the world's standards and methods for finding inner peace and satisfaction. Instead, let's keep our spiritual ears tuned to the voice of our Savior and we will find fulfillment. Someone has aptly said, "Living without God's plan for your life is like sewing with a needle without thread, or writing one's biography with a pen empty of ink."

Love, Jerry & Dotse