"The thief (Satan) comes not but to kill, steal, and destroy; but I (Christ) came that you might have LIFE and that you might have it more ABUNDANTLY." John 10:10
I recently spoke to a small group of women about abundant living, a subject that is difficult to describe. Many of us have not exactly been living abundantly and frankly, find it hard to walk out when the rubber meets the road.
Christ offers abundant living in John 10:10, so if He offers it, it’s available. We experience so many challenging and difficult circumstances in life that we can be left feeling a bit bewildered and wondering, "Is abundant living really possible?"
In my Christian walk, I am learning the exciting truth that YES! It is possible! And not just when circumstancesare going my way. That’s what I used to think would bring me the abundant life Christ was talking about. I would think,"If we were out of debt….if we didn’t have the challenges of autism…if…if…if…THEN our life would be abundant…"
But no, Christ already told us that life was going to be full of challenges. "In this life, you WILL have trouble…" Thank God He didn’t just leave it at that. If He had, we would just be challenged to simply brace ourselves and live bruised, beaten down lives til we someday reach Heaven. The rest of the verse says…" but take courage, I have overcome the world."(John 16:33)
You may be thinking, well, that’s great for Jesus, but how about for me? I need to overcome! In the next several blogs, I hope to share with you some scripture and things God is teaching me that may challenge your theology, doctrine, or denominational beliefs. I hope so. Don’t worry, it’s all scripture…you let the Holy Spirit speak truth to you through it. I’ve been taught lots of differing things from the pulpits of diverse denominations, but I am finding that the Holy Spirit is the best, most accurate teacher of TRUTH.
I want you to know that Christ came to set us free from sin that seperates us from God, to offer us eternal life, AND abundant life while we’re on this earth. I think what we are not doing so well these days is helping Christians know who they are in Christ. When you find out who you are, you discover that He has given you so much as His child. Reminds me of the movie Princess Diaries, strangely. In the movie, this tomboyish teenager finds out that she’s not just exactly who she thought she was. Apparently, her biological father was the king of a small country. He died, ands uddenly now she had the opportunity to become the next princess! First, it was a shock and hard to imagine what she was being offered simply because she was an heir. She would be given all she could ever need and so much more. Not only that, but she would be given the power and authority to rule. All given by her father.
We too, who are in Christ, are joint heirs with Jesus. THINK of that! Joint heirs. Romans 8:16-17 says, "The Spirit, Himself, bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God; and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ." That’s difficult to wrap your head around, is it not? Like the princess in the movie, she had a lot to learn about who she was and what she’d been given. So do we as fellow believers and joint heirs with Christ. In the next few blogs, I will share with you some of my recent discoveries of who we are in Him….and I’d love to hear your discoveries too!
Learning to live abundantly,
Cheri
