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.
John 10:10
No one likes to have anything taken or stolen from them. We guard that which we think is most valuable. And we take great precaution with those things that have sentimental value to us. The enemy of this world, the devil, is real. He is not some little guy with a pitchfork running around making mischief. He is the one who has come to steal, kill, and destroy. He deceived Eve and through that deception and disobedience to God's Word, we fell and lost who we were. Our identity was stolen. We died. Paradise was destroyed.
Jesus came to set things right. He came to reconcile us to God. He came to give us abundant life. Let's be clear. That does not mean that He came to give us money or possessions. He came to give us back what had been destroyed and stolen. He came to give us peace with God. He came to give us a purpose for living. He came to give us something more powerful and more blessed than selfish needs. This is the abundant life.
The abundant life is the life that is free from the penalty and power of sin. The abundant life is knowing that the God who created the universe and spoke everything into existence loves us. The abundant life is in knowing that we have been forgiven for all our sins. This life is filled with the power of God's love flowing in us and through us into the lives of the people around us.
When we experience God through the love of Christ, we are born again. And in being born again we become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). It is in the new creation that Abundant Life begins. This is life of truly experiencing God and experiencing life as God meant us to be--connected to Him and others.
Blessings to you!
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