Abundant

Today's Bible Reading: JOHN 10:1-42; LUKE 13:22-14:24

John 10:10

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

The followers of Jesus flourish. They thrive. They obtain life and live it abundantly. Many things will attempt to dismantle this life. There are things that will attempt to topple believers, things that are bent on destroying them, but these do not deconstruct them. Those who follow Jesus will experience life to the full.

Jesus contrasts a crook with a caretaker. He distinguishes a thief with a shepherd. He compares one who comes to rob with the other who comes to redeemer, one who comes to slay with the other that comes to save and one who comes to capture while the other comes to care for us.

He affirms that He came to bring life. He came to give abundant life to those who are His. The implication is that death was dominate. It had held us in bondage. It had held us captive. It was robbing us of life. It was waiting to destroy us. We could not individually escape its grasp. We were born in sin. All of us were under its death sentence. We were devoid of life and doomed to die. It was an arduous existence.

Jesus came to destroy death. He came to bring life among the lifeless. What He gives we cannot gain. In Him we find deliverance from the death penalty incurred because of our sin. By His life we have life. Through His death we live. We have Life, abundant life.

Yet it seems that many who follow Jesus encounter what appears to be a life of disparity. They have a life void of life. They are reviled, ridiculed, and rejected. They are beaten for their beliefs, punished for their profession and they are severely persecuted. They are far from flourishing, yet they do. No matter what, they thrive.

The reason for their contentment is not contingent upon their circumstances, but on Christ. He bestows life. He brings us to life from our spiritual deadness. He fosters fullness of life as we follow Him. He gives us a life of happiness in our holiness. He brings us a life of joy in the journey. He ushers within is a life that overshadows any obstacle. This life is not diminished by difficult. It is not squelched by surroundings or suppressed by suffering. In Him we have abundance through adversity. Jesus brings a life full and fabulous beyond our failings. We are shepherded by a glorious Savior. He is constantly giving, guiding and guarding us along the way. It is a life of abundance, now and forever.

Today thank God for the abundant life that He has given us. Ask Him to help you be reminded daily of this truth. Trust Him to enable you to live out the abundant life that you have been given in Him .