“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10)
Abundant life. We all want it. It might look different to each of us. For one, abundant life might mean a life free of problems or physical pain. For another, abundant life might be that larger home we’re in need of, or a more reliable car. Yet for another, abundant life might be a better job and more money in the bank. Whatever abundant life looks like to each of us, we need to be very careful that we do not find ourselves assuming that God is the UPS guy, who is obligated to deliver all the good things we want. God does not work for Amazon.
To help deter us from that attitude, Jesus chose very wisely the word he used for “abundant” in John 10:10. He actually had three Greek words to use. The first word was the Greek word bios. Bios means an abundant physical life. A life where everything goes the way we want it to, and is free from pain and stress. It is where we get our word “biology.” Then there was the Greek word psuche. Psuche means an abundant emotional life. A life well balanced mentally, intellectually, and with sound reasoning. It is where we get our word “psychology.” The last Greek word at Christ’s disposal was the word zoe. Zoe refers to the eternal life of God within us. It is the divine life uniquely given by God.
When Jesus promised an abundant life, he bypassed using the other two Greek words and intentionally chose the word zoe. That tells us something very significant. It tells us that experiencing true abundance of life has nothing to do with the physical life we have down here. Abundance has everything to do with the life within our spirit and soul. It does not mean that Jesus Christ does not want us to have good things in this life. It means that he has much more for us than this mere physical life. Jesus wants us to experience an abundant life in him that not only fills our heart and soul with plenty in the here and now, but carries us into an even more abundant perpetual life.
So, here is the bottom line. When we die, we will discover it was never about this life. It was always about eternity.
Darlene
“I have come that you may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10)