Abundant Life

In John 10:10 (TLB) Jesus said, "The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill and destroy. My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.". I find it interesting that Jesus said this when addressing the religious leaders at that time. It has been traditionally and rightly taught that the thief in this passage is the devil, while I certainly agree, could Jesus have also been referring to dead religious systems? Often when looking at the many teachings of Jesus in the four Gospel accounts, we often only scratch the surface of the depth of what He was fully teaching.

Religion of any kind does not save man, only Jesus Christ does. Many have bought into a form of Christianity that is only about a long list of do's and don'ts, often referred to as legalism. Any system that is not founded upon Jesus Christ, will be against the abundant life that flows from the Father through the Son.

We are not called to a religious system, we are called to a relationship with Jesus Christ. The abundant life is not just about leaving earth for heaven. Abundant life is what is for the believer now. It is about a life that is truly free from the bonds of sin and death, and living in the freedom that is only possible through the finished work of Jesus Christ. The abundant life is about a life in which we are restored to union with the Father through Jesus Christ.

Living an abundant life means you walk with God, and that abundant life overflows in your life. It is walking a life in which the light of Jesus Christ shines brighter and brighter through you to those in this world. We are to live as living epistles to this world showing Christ in us the hope of glory!

Remember in John 3 when Jesus talked about being born again, the original language is best translated being born of the original. What was God's original intent for man prior to the fall in Genesis? For us to walk in union with Him and in dominion! His original intent was for us to live with the identity knowing that we bear His image!

Genesis 1:26-28 (AMPC)

"God said, Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image, after Our likeness, and let them have complete authority over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the [tame] beasts, and over all of the earth, and over everything that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them.And God blessed them and said to them, Be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it [using all its vast resources in the service of God and man]; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and over every living creature that moves upon the earth."