7-26-2020

Good Morning All, 

        John 10:10; “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

    A few years ago, I had an interesting discussion with a young man.  We were talking about faith, God’s promise of forgiveness of sins and eternal life.  He looked at me and said, “so what?”  “I get it that heaven is great but what about this life; am I stuck here until I die?”  “What is in it for me now?”  “Right now, all I hear is rules to live by and when I die; I get heaven.”  “Get back to me in a few years when I am older, and I’ll start then.”

    Well, I was a little taken aback.  My first thought was about how kids these days (yes, my ACTUAL thought) only want instant gratification.  That is what is wrong with the world today; it is all about me and now.  They only think about now and what is in it for me now.  They never take the perspective about looking for future good.  I could have added that we never know when death may occur but what teenager does not think that they are almost immortal and that nothing bad will happen to them.  Then I started thinking about his question about now; what is in it now?

    That is when this verse came to mind.  This is part of John’s discourse on Jesus as our shepherd.  Jesus is our caretaker, protector, and defender.  We have that now.  This is part of “have life and have it abundantly.”  We have many blessings from God, because of Jesus and the atonement we receive through his death and resurrection.  We receive the gift of fellowship with our fellow believers.  This is the flesh and blood expression of God’s love for us here on earth.  We receive God’s promise of sustenance, of being provided for.  This can and should give us a sense of peace as we face struggles and trials.  God will provide.

    God gives us the comfort that we need as we face the struggles of life.  When we fear or worry or feel consumed by guilt, we can know it is the thief (the devil) who comes to destroy you.  We know that the devil’s only goal is to cause us pain and all pain comes from him.  Yet Jesus’ plan is for us to have life, right now, and to have it abundantly.  His death does more than give us eternal life; it restores us to God’s family.  It is the beginning of our life of glory with him.  Through it, we have the start of this wondrous event.  We do not have to wait until we die; we can enjoy the greatest truth ever; God’s redemption of his people is occurring in us, for us and to us. 

    So that is what we have now with so much more waiting for us tomorrow.  We have God’s promise for tomorrow, but we have his blessings for today.  The promise secure and we have abundant life.

Father of mercy, we give you thanks for the many blessings of this life.  You give us life more abundantly.  Be with those who do not know the wonders of your blessings, those who listen to the devil and his lies and miss your grace.  Bring them safely home.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret