John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
One cannot claim every verse in the Bible as their favorite, but this one certainly ranks well towards the top on many people’s lists. We can see why. First of all, these are the words of Jesus. All the words in red tend towards the top of folks’ lists. Second, he revealed one of the key reasons he was sent to earth. That makes this a very important verse for us all. Mostly, though, I think we like it because of the monumental promise it contains. The promise of a full and abundant life.
Jesus is so big, and his thinking is so big that it is hard for even his words to express, much less our minds to absorb, his thoughts. Had he said that he came to earth so that we might have life, that would have been good. There would be tomes of theology from that statement alone. He didn’t stop there though, because that did not express what he was thinking or trying to convey. He didn’t just come so that we would have life, but that we would have abundant life.
Immediately, that phrase takes our minds out of the eternal life paradigm and lands us right here on planet earth. Of course, we will have abundant life in heaven. Since that truly goes without saying, that is not what he was communicating. Besides, there will be no thief in the after earth life to steal, kill or destroy. Yahoo! So, Jesus’ message has something important to say about our life here on earth.
The New Life Version of John 10: 10 reads, “The robber comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy. I came so they might have life, a great full life.” Think of Jesus’ statement this way, God sent Jesus to earth to bring us not only life, but a great, full life. First, It wasn’t life such as just breathing and hearts beating that Jesus came to bring. People were already living on earth. So, when God said to him, “Go to earth and give them life,” He must have had something else in mind. Second, when Jesus said he came to bring us a great, full life, there was certainly a great deal implied in those words. We need to consider what that means. What did God intend in sending us abundant life through Jesus? The answer to that question affects every facet of life. That is why I think we need to seriously ponder these questions and this verse.
Of course, life is certainly not ours in abundance without our health. A healthy body is foremost to a great and full life. So, did God have our health in mind when he sent Jesus? Of course, He did. Remember that Isaiah foresaw the torture that Jesus would endure so that he could bear our disease and infirmities in his body.
A full life also suggests a long rich life. Surely no one would consider a full life to mean thirty or forty years of abundance and then a bunch of years of a half empty life. That doesn’t make sense. The glass must be full and overflowing from beginning to end.
Jesus came to earth to bring us life in abundance. It was one of his main objectives. Let’s not let anyone talk us into anything less than God’s intention and Jesus’ purpose. Believe God for fullness. Believe Him for overflowing abundance. It is His will.