“I have come to give you life, full and abundant.” - Jesus’ words from John 10:10
There was a lot of news talk last week about the potential of winning the lottery and what it would be like to become an instant multi-millionaire. By the number of last minute purchases for that specific lottery draw, there were many people hoping to be one of the lucky ones!
I find it very interesting how society is continually trying to enhance our lives. How many advertisements and commercials do you see each week that say: Buy this and life will be better! Take this holiday, live in this house, drive this car, buy this new things – and you will experience life as it was meant to be. Life will be better if you have this or do this!
REALLY?
I’m sure you are like me – I’ve bought new cars, I’ve gone on great holidays, I’ve bought things I’ve wanted, and while I enjoyed them, sad to say for a brief time, they did not define my life. In fact after the new thing had been used for awhile, after the “new car smell” was gone and the windshield cracked, after the holiday was a few weeks past, life pretty much got back to the same old, same old!!
When all is said and done, all those promises of experiencing a better life, do not really cut it. Life is not defined by getting away or having new things or medical procedures that try to make you young again! Jesus said “I have come to give you life, full and abundant.” It is the work of Jesus Christ in us, His transforming power, that truly brings LIFE. Jesus is the One who makes life worthwhile. In Christ, THIS IS LIFE! This is what life was meant to be like.
Jesus refers to our life in Him as being “born again” in John 3. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation”. Life is Jesus Christ is a totally new and transformed living. It is not just a nighttime cream you rub on, or a new coat of paint, or new clothes. In Christ, the old is gone and the new has come. We are a NEW CREATION in Christ.
Jesus says “I have come to GIVE you life…” As we choose to receive His life, God places His very life, His supernatural life into us. But here is the kicker … to possess this new life in Christ, my old life has to die. 2 Corinthians 4:11 says “For we who are alive, are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that His life may be revealed in our mortal body.”
As we celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection this weekend, let the truth of Romans 8:11 overwhelm you – “…if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”