Jesus said, “…I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10). Why don’t we as Christians experience the abundant life on a more regular basis? How do we explain this dilemma between God’s promise and our experience?
This reflection is about discovering the secret of a joyous Christian life in the midst of the reality and difficulties of our lives. Christ in you, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27), is the power of God, the wisdom of God and the secret of the joyous Christian life. Resting in Jesus as our life is about exchanging our life for His. It’s about practicing a life of faith, working through love, and having an intimate relationship with the living God. We believe that Jesus said that we can indeed have abundant life while on this planet, and that this happens as we allow Jesus Christ, moment by moment, to live His life through our own.
Furthermore, we recognize Satan as the great deceiver, seeking to blind us from the reality, simplicity, and power to live the life God has planned for us. We know that submission to Jesus, who is our life, results in the natural budding of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us. Love, joy, peace…can dominate our lives as we grow, being transformed by the power of the Living God to His glory. God’s goal for the Christian is to bring us to full maturity as His children, that “…Christ be formed in us” (Galatians 4:19). God has created each of us uniquely, giving us special gifts for doing His work of building up the body of Christ. God the Father fully accepts us when we trust in His Son, Jesus, and gives us the Holy Spirit as a down payment for the eternal blessing to come. By accepting Jesus into our life, we become God’s children—never to be forsaken. Resting in Jesus as our life in the midst of life’s difficulties is a lifelong practice and process of learning to allow Jesus to live through us.
Bible verses to prayerfully reflect upon:
A. Read John 10:10. Jesus said, “The thief comes…to kill, steal and destroy… but I came that they may have life, and that they might have it more abundantly “. (The NIV Bible translation uses the phrase “life to the full”.) Jesus wants us to experience an abundant life in the midst of life’s many troubles. This life is not natural, but supernatural. The abundant life is God’s life.
B. Read Galatians 5:22-23. The fruit of the Holy Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control. This is God’s definition of an abundant life, which He wants us to experience in daily life. If we are honest, we realize that this is not natural. In fact, these character traits have their origin in God. They describe God’s definition of His love. (See 1 Corinthians 13:4-8).
C. How do we get God’s life? It all starts by admitting that we are not perfect. The Bible says, “All have sinned and fall short of God’s glory.” (Romans 3:23) No human has the capability of living a perfect, sinless life. The good news is that Jesus did live a perfect, sinless life, since He was God in human flesh. He died on the cross for the punishment of the sins of all mankind and arose on the third day, offering eternal life as a free gift! If we will repent (change our mind), believe and receive God’s free gift, then Jesus will come and live in us. Colossians 1:27 tells us that Christ in us, the hope of glory! This is the start of the abundant life—Jesus living in us! Eternal life is not a thing, but a person. Jesus promises to never fail or forsake us!
D. In John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life”. In John 15:5, Jesus said, ” I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” Jesus is telling us that, once we have Him living in us, we still can do nothing to produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit without continuing to practice drawing from His abundant life. This is a lifelong process, as we practice a life of childlike dependence on Jesus as our life.
E. Read 2 Corinthians 11:3, 14. The Bible clearly stipulates the existence of Satan. (See also 1 Peter 5:8.) Satan’s true nature is to destroy, but he cloaks his deceptive intentions by disguising himself as an angel of light. The word “beguiled” (in 2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJV)) means “to rob us of what might have been”. Satan and his forces want to keep people from becoming Christians or neutralize our effectiveness after becoming Christians. Their goal for the Christian is to move us off of this simple life of trust in Jesus as our life source.
F. Read Romans 9:30-33. What error did Israel make in pursuing a life of righteousness (abundant life)? The Jews rejected Jesus as their life and life source. They tried to make themselves acceptable to God by what they did. Read Galatians 3:1-5. The Galatian Christians started out by receiving Jesus by faith but then returned to self-effort in an attempt to produce a godly life. The apostle Paul admonished the Galatian Christians to get back to the basics of living in dependence on Jesus as their life source. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”.
G. In Galatians 2:20, Paul describes the objective of Christian living—to allow Jesus to live through us as we practice a simple life of trust in Him. 2 Corinthians 4:7-12 shares the same theme of God living through Paul. The word “manifest” (or “reveal”) means “to render apparent”. The apostle Paul, in discussing death, is not referring to physical death but daily death to his old self (flesh). Paul is indicating that he was depending on Jesus by faith in his severe difficulty and weakness. As he yields his will to God, the very life of Jesus Christ is revealed in his human body.
H. In Isaiah 40:3, the word “renew” means “to exchange”. The Hebrew word is used to describe the changing of clothes. This is where the idea of the Christian life being an exchanged life originated—trading our weakness for His strength. 2 Corinthians 12:9 tells us that God’s grace is sufficient, for His power is perfected in our weakness. Thankfully, we are eternally secure as God’s children as we practice resting in Jesus as our life.
I. According to Ephesians 1:13-14, the Christian has great security, as we are sealed by the Holy Spirit—who is given to us as an irrevocable down payment to guarantee the blessings to come in eternity. Galatians 4: 6-7 tells us that we are mature sons and daughters of God—all because we believed in what Jesus did on our behalf. Praise God for His faithfulness!