AtJesusFeetFEB09

Daily Grace At Jesus` Feet

February 09, 2010

Author of Salvation offers Abundant Life!

I came that they may have life and have it abundantly – John 10:10

Our Lord promised life and life in abundance (or life and life in its fullness) to those who receive and accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior. He is depicted as the gateway and whoever enters through Him will be saved. Jesus says in John 10:10 about the abundant life offered to those who believe in Him. Jesus said in verses 7-10, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” Many times this passage is wrongly interpreted as blessings with richness. See the sharp contrast between Jesus and other gods. Jesus says that whoever came before Him promised life but deceived men because they were thieves and robbers. And their only goal is misguide, steal, kill, and destroy men. See the progression: steal, kill, and destroy in the sequence of deceptiveness, killing flesh as a result of sinful act, and ultimately destroying the soul in hell through out eternity.

John’s goal for writing this gospel is that men maybelieve that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing in Him men may have life in his name (John 20:31). John uses the term, “Life” 36 times in his gospel and we find the word “life” 17 times in Revelation. Apostle Paul uses 14 times the word, “life” 14 times and again in 1 John, we see 13 times. As you can see, that Life is one of John's characteristic concepts. "Life" in John’s gospel characteristically refers to eternal life, the gift of God through His Son. He writes in John 3:5, “that everyone who believes in Jesus Christ may have eternal life.”

The theme verse in this devotional promises a spiritual dimension to life, not physical abundance. Jesus claims that he came that men might have life and might have it more abundantly. The Greek phrase used for “having it more abundantly” means to have “a superabundance of a thing.” To be a follower of Jesus, to know who He is and what He means, is to have “a superabundance of life.” The verse promises superior, superabundant spiritual life, and the victorious life of a Christian that is empowered by the indwelling of Jesus Christ.

So how a believer has a life and life in full? When we accepted Christ as a Savior of life, God offered specifically four things. 1. Gave us free justification (forgiveness of sins; Romans 3:24, 28; Romans 5:1), 2. He declared us righteous, 3. He adopted us as sons and daughters in to His family (John 1:12), and 4. He gave His Son Jesus` Spirit and made us Co-heirs with Christ (Galatians 4:5-7). This is for a Christian to live a life in abundance through eternity. Besides these free gifts, He gave additional blessings in this world for us to have a victorious life. He gave us Peace, Perseverance, Character, Hope, and Love & Reconciliation. (Romans 5:1-5). These additional allowances help us to lead a life in abundance in this life before tasting the eternal life in heaven. These liberate us from the clutches of approval of men, self-righteous spirit, and self-justification spirits. The man who has these blessings will be a stable, Godly, patient, peaceful, loving, kind, compassionate and unperturbed in his dealings with others. When other offend him, he will still be undistorted because the One in him is greater than the one in the World. That is the spiritual person who enjoys that life in fullness in this life before enjoying the same in his eternal life. The taste of the abundance of life is experienced to a believer prior to the great experience in eternity for ever and ever. Such is the status of a true believer, yet many in Christendom miss the greatness of experiencing this abundance of life. Most times the gospel is never applied in a Christian’s life to meet the day to day challenges and as a result we do not fully experience the fullness of life in this side of eternity.

A little boy who lived far out in the country in the late 1800s had reached the age of twelve and had never in all his life seen a circus. You can imagine his excitement, when one day a poster went up at school announcing that on the next Saturday a traveling circus was coming to the nearby town. He ran home with the glad news and the question, "Daddy, can I go?" Although the family was poor, the father sensed how important this was to the lad. "If you do your Saturday chores ahead of time," he said, "I'll see to it that you have the money to go."' Saturday morning, the chores were done on time as expected by dad and the little boy stood by the breakfast table, dressed in his Sunday best. His father reached down into the pocket and pulled out a dollar bill-the most money the little boy had possessed at one time in all his life. The father cautioned him to be careful and then sent him on his way to town.

The boy was so excited; his feet hardly seemed to touch the ground all the way. As he neared the outskirts of the village, he noticed people lining the streets, and he worked his way through the crowd until he could see what was happening. It was the approaching spectacle of a circus parade! The parade was the grandest thing the boy had ever seen. Caged animals snarled as they passed, bands beat their rhythms and sounded shining horns, midgets performed acrobatics while flags and ribbons swirled overhead. Finally, after everything had passed where he was standing, the traditional circus clown, with floppy shoes, baggy pants, and a brightly painted face, brought up the rear. As the clown passed by, the little boy reached into his pocket and took out that precious dollar bill. Handing the money to the clown, the boy turned around and went home. What had happened? The boy thought he had seen the circus when he had only seen the parade!

Are you experiencing all that God has for you? The Christian life is a marvelous adventure, an exciting journey. Many people including Christians seem to be content to float in a sea of mediocrity, settling for second best. Do you want the abundant life that Jesus promised? Do you want to live life to its fullest? Then aim higher. Don't set your sights too low. Determine to become all that God created you to be. Give yourself to Christ, follow Him completely, and allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and through you. (Credits: Wayne Rice, Zonderzan)

God promises a life and the life in its fullness to those who love Him and set their minds on things above, not on earthly things (Colossians 3:2). Remember fullness of life is free through Jesus Christ. Come and receive it and help other receive the same.

Prayer: Father, I want to experience a blessed life and the life in its fullness in this world and please help me in my journey in this world..... In Jesus Name....Amen!.

Have a Blessed Day!

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