tomorrow in worhsip i'll be preaching on john 10:10, when Jesus gives us part of his mission statement, telling us that he came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (italics mine). that word abundantly has always gotten stuck in my throat, like a pill that's just a bit too big. i have no problem believing in eternal life, and that "God so loved the world that he gave Jesus that whoever believes will not die but have eternal life." i've got that part. but for some reason, abundant life is a horse of a different color.
while eternal life often seems like something "out there" somewhere, abundant life seems to be something Jesus wants us to have right now. some translations call it "life overflowing." sometimes i feel like my life is overflowing, but other times, i feel like my life is a trickle, or worse, a stagnant stream, just growing algae.
but that's not what God desires for us. God desires energy and excitement and wide-eyed wonder. God desires passion and adventure and tremendous courage. God desires that we color outside the lines at times (don't believe me? reread the Jesus stories in the Gospels and try and argue that he colored inside the lines). God desires that we get a little crazy sometimes. that we surrender our allegiance to our 5-year plan, or our american dream in order to love our neighbor right now. it's not always easy or convenient or even rational, but it all leads to abundant life.
anyway, that's what i'll be preaching on tomorrow, and it called to mind this old song from the mid 90's by canadian songstress carolyn arends. kind of cheesy, but in its own way it pretty much captures the point. i've also included a couple of other videos that, at least for me, send the same basic message. enjoy!
while eternal life often seems like something "out there" somewhere, abundant life seems to be something Jesus wants us to have right now. some translations call it "life overflowing." sometimes i feel like my life is overflowing, but other times, i feel like my life is a trickle, or worse, a stagnant stream, just growing algae.
but that's not what God desires for us. God desires energy and excitement and wide-eyed wonder. God desires passion and adventure and tremendous courage. God desires that we color outside the lines at times (don't believe me? reread the Jesus stories in the Gospels and try and argue that he colored inside the lines). God desires that we get a little crazy sometimes. that we surrender our allegiance to our 5-year plan, or our american dream in order to love our neighbor right now. it's not always easy or convenient or even rational, but it all leads to abundant life.
anyway, that's what i'll be preaching on tomorrow, and it called to mind this old song from the mid 90's by canadian songstress carolyn arends. kind of cheesy, but in its own way it pretty much captures the point. i've also included a couple of other videos that, at least for me, send the same basic message. enjoy!
"i went to the woods because i wanted to live deliberately. i wanted to live deeply and suck out all the marrow of life, to put to rout all that was not life, and not when i had come to discover that i had not lived." -h. d. thoreau
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