‘So Jesus said to them again, “Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. ‘ John 10:7-10
The other day, I listened to my cousin Jay preach his first sermon. The title of the message was “Life More Abundantly”. His sermon was powerful, full of truth, a great message. After listening to this, a question was raised in my heart. What is “Life more abundantly”? So, after much pondering and searching scriptures, I believe I have some idea, possibly, of what Jesus might have been referring to here. Now, I want to preface that this is simply my pondering and musing over the above passage.
It would seem to me that an obvious element of an abundant life is an eternal life with Jesus and God our Father in heaven. Simple. That’s what we say we want and what we should be in full pursuit of.
The practical element to this abundant life applicable to this temporal life of here and now is Love. Love unceasing. Jesus’ answer to the pharisee. Love God and love your neighbor as yourself. When one lives their life committed to an intentional attempt to do just that, abundance flows freely. Abundance for oneself and abundance for those within that sphere of love. The result is joy. An abundant life filled with joy that knows no bounds and is not affected by circumstance, but radiates regardless of circumstances and brings others into it as well.
As I listened to my cousin speak about how his surrender to Jesus Christ’s lordship over his life lead to life more abundantly, read this passage, and pondered on what it could mean, all I could think about was a life of love for Jesus, love for others and radiating joy. That sounds like living life abundantly to me. Have a blessed weekend.
In full pursuit of the greatest Trophy
