Pastor’s Corner: “One Life to Live”
John 10:10 (NKJV) – 10 The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Have you ever felt that loving the life you have is impossible unless your circumstances change? Have you ever asked, “God, are you there? Are you really working in my life?” I have to be honest, there have been days when I may not have wondered if God was there- but I wondered if maybe He chooses not to work in my life for a while. There are some days I am like Habakkuk as he cries out to the Lord, “How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?” (Habakkuk 1:2 NIV)
How is it possible to live an abundant life that Jesus Christ promises if our circumstances do not change? Our lives at times are filled with unexplainable sorrow, fear, disappointment and crushed dreams. Some of us have had seasons where we felt we would never be able to feel truly happy again, much less love our life. And the phrase “Abundant Life” seems like an abstract concept which is unreachable.
This is exactly how the enemy works at stealing, killing and destroying our lives. His endgame is for us to give up and walk away from our faith. He moves us to focus on our circumstances and not on the Lord. In this process, we can become stuck in defeat rather than living in abundance.
When we focus on the Lord in our circumstance, through a lot of faith and tears, God helps us to accept that although we can’t change our circumstances, we can change how we react to them. We have been given one life to live — this life — and we can either continue to allow adversities to have power over our happiness, or we can embrace God’s promise for abundant life and make it a reality in our own. The choice is ours. There have been times where I let random and unimportant life situations steal more joy than I’m happy to admit.
In John 10:10, Jesus explains while there’s a thief who seeks to steal, kill and destroy us, He came to earth so we could not only live life but live it abundantly despite the thief’s intentions. “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. Here we see the contrast between the destroyer of happiness and the Giver of joy. Jesus was explaining He is the answer to experiencing the best life possible despite what life throws at us. He is what gives our lives meaning and joy. While medical science seeks to add years to our life, Jesus Christ offers life to our years.
An abundant life consists of a profusion of the fruits of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), not an abundance of “things”. It consists of life that is eternal and, as such, our interest is in the eternal, not the temporal. Paul warns us: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.” (Colossians 3:2). An abundant life does not mean we will have all the riches we desire, nor a trouble free life. You see abundant living is not just when everything is going “right”, but even while we are going through the worst of times, we can live abundantly in the here and now.
The life you have today, and all it includes or doesn’t include, is the life God has given you. It’s the life you’re supposed to love, despite what it looks like. It’s the only life you have, and the only life you’re going to get. You can live it abundantly with joy based on Christ alone or let life pass you by as you allow problems, disappointments or drudgery to steal your zest for living. No matter what you’re going through, loving life is a choice, not a by-product of everything going our way. Our peace, joy, contentment, fulfillment and overall happiness depend on the choice we make. Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV) – Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen!
In His Grace,
Pastor Hamilton