Life Thief
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." John 10:10 KJV
Are you under the influence of the thief or the one who provides life? There are only two choices in this question and that’s for a reason. Because in our human existence we only have two options available to us. It’s either the path to righteousness or the path to destruction. I’m sorry my friends but there are no ifs, ands or buts about it. It’s either black or white. Some may argue for shades of grey but those are the ones who won’t admit to themselves, let alone to anyone else, what road they are really on.
You see a thief will only busy himself with his trade in secret. He doesn’t want to be caught because then he can’t get away with it. He wants to be subtle and unnoticed so he’ll come under the cover of night, in the shadows or when the victim is preoccupied. And the truth is, if the thief gets away with it the first time, he’ll be back again to see what he can carry away the next time. The first time may be something so small that the victim may not even notice what was taken is even missing, but the next time it will be something more valuable and so on it goes until eventually the victim is left bankrupt and destitute.
If we take a look around in our society, it’s easy to see so many under the influence of the thief because he has distracted them with meaningless things, like watching too much TV, playing hours of video games, working endless hours or pointless arguments and disagreements. All the while, he has been robbing them of such things as joy, fulfillment, relationship, health, wealth or even wisdom. Often the loss is only noticed when it’s too late and can’t be corrected, however, if you’re reading this, it’s not too late.
You have access to the one who provides life as quoted from John 10:10 above. Those words were spoken by Jesus who laid down his life for our sin so that we might have life rather than death. For anything without Jesus is just that - a one way ticket to death. Not death in the physical sense because every human being will experience that. It is death of the spirit; that is the inner man which exists in each of us and will exist into eternity.
But notice the words that Jesus encourages us with are emphasized with a choice because he says that "they might have life". That word might is not a guarantee to us but rather a matter of choice. Do we want to wake up from our slumber and take back what has been taken from us? If we do, we must accept that Jesus is the ultimate one that restores what we lost.
However, notice that there’s even more available than just mere existence. There is abundance out there for us but we must first access the life Jesus offers to us through his sacrifice and then we will notice the next phrase he speaks: "and that they might have it more abundantly." Think of abundance like water poured into a glass but having more water than glass, so the water runs over and splashes everywhere.
What’s the point of having abundance? Wouldn’t just having life be good enough? While it’s true that having life as Jesus promises us is good, the question is how would anyone else be affected by that life unless it touched them in some way. Therefore, an abundant life spills over with the love, joy, peace, contentment and other blessings soaking those affected by the thief. They may in turn feel the joy and think – I used to have some of that, where did it go? This very thought may be what is needed for them to break free from the influence of the thief.
Therefore don’t just seek life see but rather seek the abundant life!
God Bless - Rick
