Life was Given

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

We hear the verse quoted many times during altar calls, Sunday School, devotional groups, in the middle of sermons attempting to emphasize a point, even at funerals. The thief is the devil, and he comes... comes. Not came, not come. But comes. He hasn't reached us yet. he hasn't stolen, he hasn't killed, he hasn't destroyed. But he is coming.

Jesus speaking here said the He has come, already here, that they, meaning everyone who comes to Him, may have life, and have it to the full.

Wow.

Yet, what seems to always draw our attention is the last part of the verse,

"that they may have life, and have it to the full"

It sounds so heavenly, so graceful.

'Jesus is going to give me the best life ever!'

...we start to think.

 The Best life ever?

Immediately the perception is drawn to us, us. Our hearts always like to bring the focus back to us.

Whether we realize it or not we start to think what this verse, what this promise can do for us.

Not for the beggar downtown.

Not for the lonely, the broken, the injured, the starving.

Jesus is going to give me life to the full.

And then we realize all of those other people. Wait a second, What about them?

What about the missionaries who are dieing for Jesus.

How is that life?

That brings us to another promise,
in John 16:33,
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this
world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

How are we going to have the best life ever if we are going to have trouble
in this world we live in... trouble and happiness don't go together.

Our dreams are attacked and crushed just that quickly.

Our understanding of what we believe is shaken... is this a contradiction?
And it leads us to: confusion, chaos, doubt.

Believe me, I've been there.

Just maybe though we need to start paying attention to the full verse.

Jesus.

Yes Jesus, not just because He is the answer to every Sunday school question, not just because I'm a Christian and this blog is about Him... but because He is the answer to EVERY question.

Maybe we need to get back to those basics once more...

Jesus has come. He said it Himself  'I have come...' and that is where it all matters. Jesus is the life, the full life. He has come so that we can have Him.

He promises Himself. He promises peace in Himself.

This wasn't some promise that Jesus was going to fulfill our every want and desire, if we just believe in Him. Now THAT would be a contradiction of everything the Christian faith represents. It's not about us, it never was. If were about us, we wouldn't need a savior. if it were about us, what we do wouldn't be sin, it would be shallow fulfillment.

Jesus came to rescue us from ourselves.

Jesus came to live inside of us.

Jesus came to bring us over our mountains.

Jesus came to stand underneath our failures, lifting us back up.
To where?

To Himself.

All of creation seems to long for the Creator, all but the very ones who were created in His image. So he came. Not because we desired Him, but because we need to desire Him.

And He desires us.

This verse was actually a very profound statement that ALL of what we believe hinges to.
Jesus came just to give Himself to us, so that we may have Him.
Didn't he also say in John 14:6 that He is “the way and the truth and the life."

Did you catch that?

Jesus is THE life. He is life. So that means apart from life we are dead. Apart from Him we are dead. Dead in our sin, dead to ourselves.

So when will we begin to abandon ourselves, to shake the dust off of our decay.

To live not for Him, but because of Him.

These are things I struggle with on a daily basis.
But I know my life isn't my own. My life was given.