“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).

In our American culture (and it may be true of other cultures-I just don’t know), we tend to be selfish. This is a human trait, and it seems to be manifest, or strangely obvious, in our land of plenty. We are competitive, or I am, anyway. And for me to win, I used to think that meant everyone else had to lose. Some days are better than others, but honestly, don’t we want what we think we deserve, whether it is first place in line, the first cookie (and maybe the last also), the top recognition? Our culture tends to value this competitive spirit, this ambition to win, whether it is in business, sports, the battlefield, or academia. This competitive spirit can also lead to what Steven Covey has labeled a scarcity mentality. We are afraid there is not enough to go around, so we had better get ours while the gettin’ is good. This is also referred to as a zero-sum mentality, meaning that for me to win, you must lose, so the net result overall is still zero.

I realize that I am writing to some incredibly godly, generous, big-hearted coworkers for whom this opening paragraph does not apply as much as to others in our culture, but you know what I mean. And I bet you can identify at some level if you are honest with yourselves.

This striving is not all bad.

• The Apostle Paul urges us: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever” (1 Corinthians 9:24-25).
• Jude writes “Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt compelled to write and urge you to contend (fight strenuously) for the faith that was once for all entrusted to God’s holy people” (Jude 1:3).

When Jesus promises an abundant life, of course he means a life full of riches, blessings, contentment, and security. But even more than that, he promises that this abundant life is not limited to just a few selective, deserving people. In fact, God desires that all be saved. For God so loved the world!! Jesus desires that all that the Father gives him will be saved, regardless of who they are or what they have done. “All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away” (John 6:37).

This grace that Jesus so generously gives means that we, too, may receive it no matter who we are or what we have done. It is a gift, and whether we are first or last, if we believe and receive, we are as eligible for the crown, the faith, as anyone else. We do not have to be concerned whether Jesus notices, because like God He is all-seeing. We do not have to be concerned whether Jesus is in a good mood that day, because he does not operate out of feelings but only agape love. And we do not have to be concerned whether a quota has been met and we lost out. In fact, we know that the last will be first in God’s economy. We also do not have to be concerned about who else is getting this grace and whether they deserve it as much or more than we do, because we know that sharing love, compassion, and faith multiplies rather than divides. Jesus is about multiplying, not dividing. He is the definition of abundance.

“For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” (Romans 5:17).

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).

In Christ,

Judy

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

If Jesus’ promise that He is the Life were not true, then we would all be doomed to death. Eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die—meaning that this life would be all we could ever look forward to. There is another word for this: Hopelessness.

This verse spells it out a little more clearly: “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die” (John 11:25). This statement is a paradox. It seems to contradict itself, but it actually reveals a great truth.

There is an assumption in this verse that death is inevitable, which is also true. Physical death is an inevitability as a result of the curse pronounced by God upon Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3). “And the Lord God said, ‘The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.” (Genesis 3:22).

Throughout the Bible we see darkness, sin, and death together juxtaposed against light, goodness, and life. Satan represents darkness, sin, and death. Jesus is light, goodness, and life.

When we die, our bodies are separated from our souls. Our bodies return to the earth as ashes and dust. Our souls go to heaven or hell, depending on our relationship with Jesus. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).

How does Jesus change this; how do we have eternal life through Him? Jesus is the fulfilment of the promise God made way back in Genesis chapter 3. After Adam and Eve’s disobedience and the resulting curse of death, God makes a stunning prophecy, or promise: that a descendent of Eve (Jesus) would ultimately defeat the serpent (Satan). Through Jesus’ birth, life, and death on the cross, he paid the penalty for our disobedience (atonement) so that we could go free. Through his resurrection, Jesus defeated death and made it possible for us to enjoy eternal life with Him.

God’s prophecy in Genesis 3:15 was fulfilled in Jesus. God made another prophecy which we read in Revelation 21:3-4 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” The curse will be overturned, and with the defeat of death, we will have life everlasting. The tree of life which God planted in the Garden of Eden, freely available to Adam and Eve until their sin and banishment from the Garden, we will experience in even greater magnitude in the New Heaven and New Earth. No more curse, no more darkness, no more night. Only light and life, eternal life.

“And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as crystal, coming from the throne of God and of the Lamb, in the middle of its street. On either side of the river was the tree of life, bearing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month; and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. There will no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His bondservants will serve Him; they will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And there will no longer be any night; and they will not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God will illuminate them; and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:1-5).

In Christ,

Judy

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6).

I do not know about you, but I have come to rely upon my GPS for navigation and traffic. All I do is put in the address and “she” tells me how to get where I need to go. But then, I might also check Google navigation just to be sure, and often they disagree. And then, someone will recommend Waze which may suggest an alternate route to avoid a slowdown. So, do I take the one that says it will get me there quickest? Perhaps I should take the one that is the most conservative estimate. Or maybe it is the one that has proved most reliable over time. The problem is that not one of my devices is 100% accurate. So, you say that’s because conditions are changing all the time—traffic, road construction, weather, etc.

And even worse—have you ever fought to get somewhere and found when you got there that they had moved????  One time I was going to a play at TPAC. I had parked and was rushing down the street, cutting it close (and it was cold that night). When I arrived at the door, the sign said the entrance had changed to the other side, in essence, I still had two more blocks to go. UGH! BRRR! Conditions change all the time. What does not change is that I need to be at work at the start of my shift, or at my doctor’s office at the appointed time, or in my seat before the show starts. Those things do not change.

In life, we all have a final destination, and we are headed there now, if we have not already arrived. Our destination is the Kingdom of Heaven. The Kingdom of Heaven is right where it has always been and always will be, in other words, you can count on it to not move or be moved. Heaven is where God is, and Jesus is sitting at His right hand.

“Forever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. God’s Word, or Law, is eternal and unchanging – fixed and established forever in the heaven of heavens” (comp. Psalm 89:2; James 1:17).

Not only is Heaven unchanging, the way to get there is described in the Scriptures and has not changed since they were written more than two thousand years ago. In John 6, we have two amazing miracles: Jesus feeding the five thousand, and Jesus walking on water. The next day, the crowd came looking again for Jesus.

“Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus. When they found him on the other side of the lake, they asked him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill. Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him God the Father has placed his seal of approval.” Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” (John 6:24-29).

 Jesus is very clear, He is the only way to the Father in Heaven, and the only way we will stay on The Way to arrive in Heaven is to believe in The Way.

To continue with the logistical analogy, even though I happen to live on a dead-end road, I am fortunate in having more than one way to get to get to my road from wherever I am. Some of us pride ourselves on always having a Plan B, a backup plan if the first one falls through. Some of us have multiple options in play all the time, juggling and grabbing whichever seems the most profitable or expedient at any given time. And that is sometimes good; however, not when it comes to our path to the Kingdom of Heaven. In those cases, there is only one Way. To count on other things, to hope a Plan B will work, is to take our eye off our ultimate destination. Let us remember:

“Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

In Christ,

Judy