(Jesus said) “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
--John 10: 10
“If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not withhold his own Son, but gave him up for all of us, will he not with him also give us everything else?”
--Romans 8: 31b-32
What does it mean to have life and have it abundantly? In December, 1993, my husband’s brother Dan called us to say he had a brand new 1994 Cadillac Eldorado for sale. Someone had driven it just a few weeks and had been in a front-end collision in
Time passed, the necessary repairs were made, and the price was affordable. We got the car from Dan and I began to drive it to work at Hastings College. It was a truly beautiful machine. The outside finish was called Pearl White and little specks of glitter seemed to sparkle in the sun. The top opened to let the fresh air in. The interior was advertised as Corinthian leather and folded around you like a soft glove. The V-8 engine was capable of going from zero to sixty with a slight touch of the gas pedal—and I loved to pull out in front of traffic on Highway 281 and leave everyone in the roadway dust...
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Thoughts to Ponder/Points for Discussion
2. What does Jesus’ promise of abundant life mean for your self-esteem? How does that influence the way you live and interact with others?
1 comment:
I really like this. Never knew about the 'vanity plate' with scripture idea.
I don't think the 'abundance' Jesus talked about has much to do with material abundance. I think more often than not, material abundance (especially the pursuit of it) brings misery and takes us further from Christ.
But I do think it's hard to separate our self-view from our material abundance... We often think others value us based on our material success -- I don't think that's true at all. Other 'judge' us by material abundence -- but they value us for all the non-material stuff (faith, commitment, friendship, humor, loyalty).
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