“The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full”
– John 10:10 –
“I write this at a point of humble learning. To die to self is the hardest spiritual battle we will ever face. Oh, to have self-interest sleep and the interest of God awaken. Then, and I believe only then, can one be truly alive. Many days, it seems as though I am missing something. If God promises abundant life, then why does life feel so dry, so mundane, so unclear, so daunting? Have I blown it? Is God holding out on me? As I press into these persistent questions, my heart cries for something more. I know yours does too. We need to be woken up.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “The thief comes only to kill, steal, and destroy; I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). Yes, Jesus did say that he has come to bring us “full” or abundant life. If this is the case, then why is life so dang hard? I have been very blessed throughout my life, yet many things are just plain difficult. Here’s the thing: we have forgotten that there is a “thief.” We have forgotten that there is a spiritual battle. We have forgotten that we are at war. I believe that there is a very specific reason why Jesus paired these two statements, and we must not ignore that. Jesus does promise life, and life to the full; however, we can never ignore that there is an enemy who would like nothing more than to poison the life God offers.
The thief. We were born into a world with two kingdoms set against each other. You are in a battle. Whether you are a believing Christ follower or someone who denies the existence of God, the absolute truth is that we live in a world that is at war. To understand why life is so hard, we must understand who we are and the attacker. Full of life, passion, and creativity, humanity is a complex wonder. Uniquely beautiful, courageously adventurous, and curiously innovative, people possess the ability no other creature has to learn, develop, and grow. With the intelligence to think, mankind has built empires, societies, families, technology, modern medicine, language, and structure. When looking at the world, it is nearly impossible to conclude that humankind is not unique in their capabilities and creativity. Not only are people unique in the ability to create, but also, people are unique in the intrinsic level of grasping ideas such as good, evil, love, hate, hope, desperation, and purpose. People have adventure in their hearts and curiosity in their minds. What makes us this way? The answer is simple: we are made in the image of God. No wonder Satan is against us – he is intensely jealous. As human, we reflect God. The enemy hates God. Therefore, he will do anything to kill, steal, and destroy us because it is the only means by which maybe, just maybe, he might get back at God. Oh, how he is so wrong. In the book Waking the Dead by John Eldridge, he states, “The story of your life is the story of the long and brutal assault on your heart by the one who knows what you could be and fears it” (34). Satan is afraid and will do everything in his power to thwart God’s work in our lives. He is out to assault our hearts. We have to realize that we are at war, and we must arm ourselves. Thankfully, we are not fighting alone. We are battling alongside the Captain who spoke the cosmos into being and the Savior of our souls.
Jesus. Just that name changes everything. He says, “I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full.” In other translations, the word “full” is written as “abundant,” and as I describe the type of life that God wants to give us, that is the word I will use. As I think about this word “abundant”, I doubt that Jesus meant “comfortable” “successful” or even “happy.” No, this can’t be so; otherwise, many people would be experiencing abundant life. Tainted by the lens of our culture, we have a very skewed version of what life with Jesus should look like. It is not simply “happy,” but rather a deep-seeded joy in humble worship of God. We are so quick to focus rigorously on the adjective before the word “life,” but when pausing for a moment, it is awe inspiring that Jesus has come to simply give us LIFE. Without this gift, we are merely in a state of being half dead while thinking that we are alive. Without this gift, we have no hope beyond this moment. Without this gift, we are trapped – left to the devices of the thief. BUT, Jesus did come to give us life, hope, and rescue! So, even the idea that he gives us life should be blowing our minds. Remembering the apostles who died for their faith, they believed that Jesus wanted to offer them abundant life, but they had the understanding that “abundant” life did not mean “comfortable.” Abundant means purposeful. When understanding who we are as image bearers of the Creator, we have much purpose. We are fighting a battle that is not against flesh and blood, and God, our Captain, has enlisted our help. This does not mean comfortable, but it does mean purposeful. Doesn’t something deep in your heart begin to stir at that? The adventure of war. Your heart may begin to stir, but with that stirring, fear may creep in. Don’t let it! An abundant life of purpose doesn’t mean it will be easy. In fact, it will be very challenging, but we don’t have to do it alone. We must come unto Him to have the ability to win any battle.
We can never be fully alive until we come unto Him. So, run to him. Sprint. Go now. Arm yourself and pray to have the ability to hear our Captain’s every command. Jesus says, “Come unto me…” To do this, we must change our will – our desire. In changing our will, we must “take captive of every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5). Without doing this, our own desires will never align with God’s. When taking captive of our will and giving into the will of coming, everything is forgotten as all is deliberately committed to Him. For so long I have been stuck on my own will – trapped in the desire to control, to understand. However, when committing to take captive my will and give it to my Lord, the desire to come to Him is desperate. It is as a child who longingly comes to a father in need of love. As I come unto my Lord, I feel utterly humbled, yet have a longing to never leave the presence of my Father. It is as though I am in the presence of a dear, wise friend and I never want to leave. There is so much to catch up on, and suddenly, the busy, “pressing” issues of my day cease to exist.
And, “…I will give you rest.” The reason why we are to come to him is so that he can give us rest. God is not here to tuck us in bed and sing us a lullaby in order that we may have “rest.” No, when the soul is tired, sleep cannot help a thing. From the perspective of God, Oswald Chambers writes in a devotional from his book My Utmost for His Highest, “I will get you out of bed, out of languor and exhaustion, out of the state of being half dead while you are alive; I will imbue you with the spirit of life, and you will be stayed by the perfection of vital activity.” Abundant life and rest with Jesus are not to be asleep and comfortable; it is to be fully alive, to have self-interest sleep and the interest of God awaken, to be in awe of his majestic vitality. This life is one of purpose – a rethought abundance that begins when we come unto Him and he arms us for battle.”
– Katie McTavish, RA of The Alps
Bread Crumbs -- CCU Residence Life 
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