Abundant Life. That is the life that Jesus came to give us. Listen to how John 10:10 is written in The Passion Translation;
“A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!”
John 10:10 (The Passion Translation)
Is that the life we are living? An abundant, more than we expect, overflowing in it’s fullness? If not, I would like to suggest 3 things that might be hindering us:
- Living in the past
- Living in the future
- Having too small a revelation of God’s grace
When we live in the past, our conversation sounds like, “But I’ve always had a problem with…” or “I’ve never been very…” The problem with this kind of thinking is that the person you are referring to is dead. They were killed on the cross and buried with Christ, and when Jesus rose again, they stayed in the grave (Gal. 2:20). God does not talk to dead people and we aren’t supposed to either.
When we live in the future, our conversation sounds like, “I’m not…” or “I don’t know if I ever will be able to…” We focus on who we have not yet become and see only the negative, the “what we are not.” The problem with this kind of thinking is simply, God doesn’t think like that. He is never negative. He doesn’t see what we are not, He only sees what we are becoming (Phil. 1:6).
When we have too small a revelation of God’s grace, we think that change is up to us. Our conversation sounds like, “I need to do more…” or “I should…” and “If only I…” The problem with this kind of thinking is it centres around us, instead of Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross. It is never about us and what we can do, but it is all about Him and what He has done.
When we find ourselves thinking negatively or feeling hopeless and overwhelmed, let’s predetermine to stop and challenge our thought process by asking, “Am I living in the past? Am I living in the future? And finally, do I have too small a revelation of God’s grace in this?”
Remember what Solomon wrote for our benefit, “Be careful what you think, because your thoughts run your life.”
Proverbs 4:23
Prayer
Holy Spirit, help us to live life with You, to love who we are and enjoy the process of becoming who You say You have created us to be – conformed to the image of Jesus. Give a us a greater revelation of Your amazing, overwhelming, over-the-top, beautiful grace. We want to live completely covered in Your grace and extend it to others, so that Jesus will be glorified and Your Kingdom advanced in all that we think, say and do. Amen!