Now! This Is The Abundant Life

“The thief has come to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come to give you life and give it to its fullest.” John 10:10

Wake up, read my Bible and drink coffee, get ready, go to work, grocery shop, do laundry, make dinner, eat dinner, spend time with family and friends, go to bed, repeat. That’s what a day to day looks for me for the most part (although, let’s be honest, I do not do laundry every day . . . ). And then, COVID-19 hit out of nowhere, rocking our world, our communities and our schedules, forcing us into a new ‘normal.’ It’s no doubt frustrating, discouraging and for some who have lost people or jobs – devastating. After the first few days of quarantine here in Canada, I was feeling the weight of the situation a little deeper in my heart. I was mourning the loss of being with friends, all of my job’s planned events and ideas and social engagements being cancelled. And when I say cancelled, I mean it. Not rescheduled. Cancelled. Our church’s kindergarten kids will never get to finish the final two weeks of their fun, science experiment filled, discipleship class. And, we never got to send off our University Students with free pancakes for a week, which has been our church’s custom for 15 or so years. How disappointing!

One night I sat before God, sharing all of these disappointments with Him. I trust in His plan, purpose and power in all things, but it is okay for us (for me) to feel disappointed. But, in the midst of whatever we are feeling, we have to be willing to hear from the Lord. To have our hearts ready to welcome His correction or perhaps a Word of encouragement or Truth pointing us towards His Way. That’s exactly what happened to me that evening. In the middle of my disappointment, Jesus reached down and whispered these words to me: “This is the abundant life.” What? Say that a little louder for the people in the back, Jesus . . . “This is the abundant life.” This? Are you sure? Being stuck at home, being isolated physically (and a bit socially) from our communities, and losing our ‘normal’ routines does not feel like abundant to me. But, when Jesus claimed that He brings the abundant life in John 10:10, he doesn’t give stipulations. He doesn’t say: “I bring the abundant life, only when things externally are working well for you.” Or, “The abundant life is yours only when you’re not socially and physically isolated and only when a world-wide pandemic is not sweeping the globe.” No! Jesus Himself – He alone – brings life in abundance. No ifs, ands or buts.

If this quarantine life is just as much the abundant life as my ‘normal’ life before all of this happened, then I need to ask God this question: What is the abundant life and what does Jesus mean by that?

For starters, we must think about what it is not. We must call out the misconceptions of what we have thought it is and ask God to re-frame our minds and hearts towards the Truth. What is it not? I must confess, sometimes I fall into things that the world would claim is the full life. Having “the things”, looking the certain way, getting all of the likes on social media, and being skilled in the “right ways” can become what we strive for, what our hearts long after, and when we succeed in them there is a fleeting sense of ‘abundance’. Or maybe just excitement . . . I’m not sure, but either way it makes us feel good!

Jesus knew this about us. He understood that we have a tendency to fall into what the world views as important and to try and take it for ourselves. Scripture says that He is familiar with the human heart – our design, our motives, and our ways.

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasure in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” Matthew 6:19-21

We know this too. We have heard this verse and we know what Jesus says about storing up treasures on earth. Don’t. Do. It. Easier said then done. Culture has a bigger influence on us then we think. The resolve? We must answer this question for ourselves: What do you live like the abundant life is? Not what do you think it is. As Christians who have spent any time reading God’s Word, we know what it is. But instead, examine your heart and where you are living like it is. Where are the desires of your heart? Bring them before God in complete, unveiled honesty.

The story of the man Job comes to mind. Satan wanted to test him and to take everything away – all his possessions, his business, his house, his family, and even his body (eventually he was covered head to toe in sores – ouch!). No doubt that with everything stripped away, Job was devastated. But God knew that Job’s heart was pure and that, even though all of those things were important and loved by him, God was the most important thing.

You see, the thief WILL come to steal, kill and destroy. Jesus says that in John 10. He doesn’t say ‘if’ the thief comes but that he has come. We can be confident that even though the enemy can destroy all of our earthly treasures, possessions and loves, he cannot destroy Jesus. We saw him give it a good shot at the cross – and look what happened! God is victorious every time and can do all things. If everything was stripped away and taken from us, Christ is the greatest gift. Jesus Himself is the abundant life.

My question is not anymore ‘what is the abundant life?’ rather, how do we live it? How do we wake up each day, no matter what is happening in the world around us, and LIVE abundantly? First of all, we must renews our minds (Romans 12:1-2). Transformation into living abundantly begins in our mind – with our perspective. This will cause us to begin to live His way – we read that in Romans 12:1-2. What does this mind renewal look like? It looks like daily choosing to see reasons to be grateful and thanking God for His good gifts (James 1:17). It looks like filling our mind with thoughts that are good, pure and lovely (Philippians 4:8). And, it looks like daily trusting in Christ and believing all that God says in His Word. We must continue to choose to believe God’s Truths – no matter if our situations or those around us try and lead us in a different way. It’s easy to get bogged down with our situation but we must overcome that through a renewed, Holy Spirit perspective.

Second of all, we will live in the abundant life when we choose to live into the Truth that our reality has changed. Literally.

“But God is so rich in mercy, and He loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!) For He raised us from the dead along with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ.” Ephesians 2:4-6

We were dead, and now we are alive. That’s a reality change if I’ve ever heard of one! We are made new, we have a new identity as loved children of God and we are being transformed into Christ’s likeness. Don’t miss what has happened to you and what is happening to you daily as a follower of Jesus! Choose to live into that changed reality, to believe it and to see it. It is there that you will meet with Jesus. It is there that you will find abundance.

The world will think we are crazy. I mean, what kind of people would say that THIS (right now) “pandemic quarantine life” is the abundant life? Let me tell you . . . People who are not depending on the world and it’s external possessions and ever changing circumstances, but rather are fully trusting in the unchanging, completely trustworthy, victorious and loving God. We will be able to share Jesus with our current fear filled world when they see us living into the abundance of Christ despite our circumstances . . . to God be the glory!

Written by: Justine Joy