The Hope of Abundant Life
John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”
Over the next few weeks, I hope to take a deep dive into this single verse and ultimately help us come to a better understanding of what it means to experience abundant life in Christ. I then hope to use this as the springboard to explain what it means to find our identity in Christ. We know that Christ came to give us abundant life, and we know that our identity should be found in him, but what does that mean or look like, and how is it achieved? I admit, my fear in taking on this endeavor is that I will not be able to do it justice, but I truly believe that we will never be what we can be until we know who we were made to be. This knowledge then frees us to be authentic people who feel no need to hide behind a façade, and this freedom is the gateway to abundant life.
One of many things I have learned about my Savior is that he isn’t looking for perfection. He doesn’t want your perfectly scripted prayers, your polished shoes, and pressed suits. He wants your heart. He wants the raw, unedited you. He wants the despicable pieces that you fear make you undesirable.
Christians are drowning in artificial piety. We put on our masks, head to our gathering places, pretend life is great and leave even emptier than when we arrived, because our hope for authenticity was left wanting yet again. We lived up to, what we believed, were everyone’s expectations – life is perfect, I am happy, holy, blessed, and better than I deserve.
But let’s get real – this is not the abundant life you hoped for, neither is it the abundant life Christ promised to give. You are literally suffocating behind your masks. You hate putting on the act week after week, but you feel trapped by self-imposed expectations or those placed on you by “conventional Christianity.” You embraced Christ because he willingly took you in all your brokenness; you were free to be real. But now you feel trapped with a different kind of bondage, not the bondage of sin but the bondage of pretense. You feel like your chains weren’t released; they were just relabeled.
So, I want to help you take those first steps into the frightening but freeing realm of authenticity. My prayer is that this journey into authenticity will change your perspective and bring you into the abundant life Christ promised.
With much love,
Bryan
Over the next few weeks, I hope to take a deep dive into this single verse and ultimately help us come to a better understanding of what it means to experience abundant life in Christ. I then hope to use this as the springboard to explain what it means to find our identity in Christ. We know that Christ came to give us abundant life, and we know that our identity should be found in him, but what does that mean or look like, and how is it achieved? I admit, my fear in taking on this endeavor is that I will not be able to do it justice, but I truly believe that we will never be what we can be until we know who we were made to be. This knowledge then frees us to be authentic people who feel no need to hide behind a façade, and this freedom is the gateway to abundant life.
One of many things I have learned about my Savior is that he isn’t looking for perfection. He doesn’t want your perfectly scripted prayers, your polished shoes, and pressed suits. He wants your heart. He wants the raw, unedited you. He wants the despicable pieces that you fear make you undesirable.
Christians are drowning in artificial piety. We put on our masks, head to our gathering places, pretend life is great and leave even emptier than when we arrived, because our hope for authenticity was left wanting yet again. We lived up to, what we believed, were everyone’s expectations – life is perfect, I am happy, holy, blessed, and better than I deserve.
But let’s get real – this is not the abundant life you hoped for, neither is it the abundant life Christ promised to give. You are literally suffocating behind your masks. You hate putting on the act week after week, but you feel trapped by self-imposed expectations or those placed on you by “conventional Christianity.” You embraced Christ because he willingly took you in all your brokenness; you were free to be real. But now you feel trapped with a different kind of bondage, not the bondage of sin but the bondage of pretense. You feel like your chains weren’t released; they were just relabeled.
So, I want to help you take those first steps into the frightening but freeing realm of authenticity. My prayer is that this journey into authenticity will change your perspective and bring you into the abundant life Christ promised.
With much love,
Bryan
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