Text Passages: John 10:10 “… I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
- Colossians 2:9–10: “In Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,
and in Christ you have been brought to fullness.”- Fullness – Full adventure marked by pleasures and challenges that reveal rich experiences of His grace and personal touches of His care.
- And this is not only referring to a future abundant life or a future fullness. Abundance and fullness now. In this life.
Jesus and Thaddeus: A Creative Interpretation
“You’ll be part of changing the world. Building a new Kingdom. Become part of a family not of relatives, but of blood bonds just the same. Spend your days with some of the most interesting, unfettered, funny, driven, brave, nurturing, smart, strong, passionate, fiery, loyal, loving, imperfect people to ever walk the earth. You will see and do things you cannot imagine. You’ll be adored. Hated. Needed. Lost. And found. You will live everywhere. And nowhere. You will lose friends. You will lose all your friends. And your own life. You will go to the ends of the earth and yet be part of the greatest movement on earth. People will say you were a fool, and that I was a fool, and that it was all a lie. They’ll call us heretics, and liars and frauds. Others will celebrate and venerate your memory. And call you a saint. But none of that’s the point. The point is that you will have said “yes” to the world’s “no.” That you hoped against hope and believed against belief. That you surrendered everything and held fast to the very end. Will you follow Me?”
Jesus is not saying all these things will characterize every Christian’s life, but that any of them might characterize any Christians life. They are the general elements of a life of what life in Christ looks like.
Mark 10:29-30 (NIV) 29 “I tell you the truth,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields–and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.
- We have family all over the world. Not just present-day family, but believers throughout history are awaiting our arrival at our eternal home.
John 15:18–20 Matthew 24:9– “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first… If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. You will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death… hated by all nations because of me.” “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.” Matthew 10:16
- In our country we don’t wake up with the fear of being dragged off to prison for our faith. But there are many brothers and sisters, just like us around the world who live with that threat every moment of their lives. But consider the grace of God that allows them to persist in worshipping and proclaiming Him.
John 8:12 – “Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”
Matthew 11:28–30 – “Come to me… and I will give you rest… my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
Jesus’s pitch versus the evil one
The enemy’s weapon is lies. Jesus’s arsenal is all truth. He doesn’t promise us life without trials. The evil one promotes sin without consequences.
The heart and soul of following Jesus is Jesus.
We fight by following Him. Not by turning into individual Rambo’s.
The abundant life is found in the fullness of our relationship with Christ, not in our environment or in our present or future circumstances. Remember this: It’s not about the wisdom of our plans or the comfort of our situation. It’s about the quality of our connection.
Conclusion: The ultimate conquest of the evil one will take place on the appointed day already established by God. The day described in Revelation 20:10 – And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Until then, let us embrace the splendor and the struggle with reliance upon our magnificent Lord, Savior and Friend Jesus Christ.
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