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Abundant Life
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - John 10:10
There is a lot that we could cover today, but I really need to talk about this verse, which for a long time has been one of my favorite verses. What does it mean to have abundant life (or life "to the full", NIV)? It's the name of our church, right? So what does it mean?
I picture someone who is so overflowing with life and joy that it can't help but be contagious. Someone that is profoundly content, yet driven to spread the contentedness to others. Someone that laughs a lot. Someone that overflows with confidence because they know that their identity is in Jesus, not in themselves. Someone with full confidence in the grace of God that strives to please God in every way. I picture a lot of things.
The hard part about this is I think that very few Christians demonstrate this. There aren't many of us that I look at and think, "There! That person is full of life! They have it so abundantly I can hardly believe it!" More often I see timidity, judgmentalism, and fear. Why is it that so many of us find it so hard to life abundantly, the very gift that Jesus comes to give us? May God pour it out on us and soften our hard, fearful hearts!
I have so many prayers in this area...it is my heart to see a Church (both LIALC and throughout the world) that demonstrates LIFE! Please, please join me in praying for this. Jesus came to give it to us - let us have the boldness to accept this gift and demonstrate it to the world.
Good thoughts from N.T. Wright on this:
Abundant Life
"I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." - John 10:10
There is a lot that we could cover today, but I really need to talk about this verse, which for a long time has been one of my favorite verses. What does it mean to have abundant life (or life "to the full", NIV)? It's the name of our church, right? So what does it mean?
I picture someone who is so overflowing with life and joy that it can't help but be contagious. Someone that is profoundly content, yet driven to spread the contentedness to others. Someone that laughs a lot. Someone that overflows with confidence because they know that their identity is in Jesus, not in themselves. Someone with full confidence in the grace of God that strives to please God in every way. I picture a lot of things.
The hard part about this is I think that very few Christians demonstrate this. There aren't many of us that I look at and think, "There! That person is full of life! They have it so abundantly I can hardly believe it!" More often I see timidity, judgmentalism, and fear. Why is it that so many of us find it so hard to life abundantly, the very gift that Jesus comes to give us? May God pour it out on us and soften our hard, fearful hearts!
I have so many prayers in this area...it is my heart to see a Church (both LIALC and throughout the world) that demonstrates LIFE! Please, please join me in praying for this. Jesus came to give it to us - let us have the boldness to accept this gift and demonstrate it to the world.
Good thoughts from N.T. Wright on this:
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