“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” – Jesus; John 10:10
I only wanted to hear about abundant life
As a baby follower of Jesus I was taught that Jesus said: “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” Whether the part about the thief was omitted, or I only wanted to hear about the abundant life, I don’t know. I do know I did not really understand the cosmic struggle humanity is engaged in.
If you are like me, I want to hear Good News. That is what the word Gospel means. It is The Good News. The Gospel is not just any good news, but The Good News of the redemption of all creation. I think that is why I originally focused on receiving abundant life. And by originally I mean over a decade or maybe two.
I knew better than to think my struggles were over when I began my relationship with Jesus. I just did not understand, that from the moment people were created with free will, there was a thief seeking to control our destinies. This thief wants power.
Before the earth was formed there was a thief who wanted to have control over everything that exists. Our benevolent Creator used the thief’s own words when He spoke to the thief before creation:
I will make myself like the Most High.
13 You said in your heart,
‘I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high;
I will sit on the mount of assembly
in the far reaches of the north;
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.’* Isaiah 14
The story continues shortly after creation as the thief continues trying to steal, kill and destroy what he cannot have. The thief, elsewhere called the deceiver, craftily twists the truth and convinces the newly created people to disobey the only rule they were given. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God,* knowing both good and evil.” Genesis 3 Sound familiar? The thief invites them to power, the kind of power he wants from God. He does not, however, tell them they will lose their freedom to his control.
What was the result? When God came looking for them they were ashamed and they hid form the One who loves them perfectly. To this day we are still hiding from God in many ways as we deal with shame.
So what does this have to do with Lent? Everything. As we take this season to think about our personal struggles in our relationship with our Creator, we are actually looking at how the thief has come to steal kill and destroy any part of our lives he can. If he cannot be “like the Most High,” he wants control of everything he can get. Is it all about the thief? No, just like the first people we still have free will to choose. Lent is a season emphasizing the opportunity to make choices for freedom and abundant life in Jesus.
This might sound hopeless to some, but it is not. The reason I love John 10:10 so much is because of the transition from the bad news that we are under attack, to the Good News that we are victorious in Jesus.
We are victorious in Jesus
Yes, there is thief, but we have a redeemer who gives us daily victory over the thief. I don’t know when I began to really understand all this, but I do know that my understanding of both the immensity of the struggle and how our ultimate victory in Jesus is making me stronger and my life increasingly abundant every day I choose to follow Jesus.
May this Lenten season draw us closer to our redeemer, Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.
How have you experienced the victory of the redeemer and the promised abundant life in spite the thief trying to steal it?
*my edit/emphasis
