Got LIFE?
By Elin Henderson
“…I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10b
Got life? A simple question…and I don’t mean “a life” because, let’s face it, most of us don’t have that! What I am talking about is transforming, abundant life. So, do you?By Elin Henderson
“…I came that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10b
So many believers think of Easter as simply a day in which we received eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of our Savior. They have their “ticket in” or their “fire insurance” as my sister puts it, but then they keep living a spiritually anemic life, either completely ignoring the Holy Spirit’s presence or nobly striving in their own strength to do good or be better. Many spend their days dreaming of glory while being frustrated with life here on earth.
But, so much more occurred on that day when we trusted the Lord as our Savior…we got life! Just what dead people needed! We received life forever with Him and life for today through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. I like how Major Ian Thomas, author of The Indwelling Life of Christ, explains this gift. He calls it a “blood transaction” to our account (our sin debt paid in full) and a “blood transfusion” of life to our spirits. Christ came to give us life, the life that Adam lost when he sinned. We were empty without it. Now, we are real people closer to being what God originally created with Adam…His Spirit interacting with our spirit and living His life out through us.
The joy of Easter is that this life isn’t simply for the life to come, but also for here and now – “I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” That is present tense! Are you and I living an abundant life now or just merely existing, barely getting through each day? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to be our life and live through us daily? Let’s rejoice not only in the life to come, purchased by Christ on the cross, but also the life and power to live each day here on earth in His presence and for His glory!
Transaction, Transfusion…complete!
GOING DEEPER:
1. What steps could you take to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit more effectively?
2. In what ways could you live life more abundantly…more like the way Jesus intends?
FURTHER READING:
John 20:31b; Romans 5:17, 8:10-11; Galatians 2:20
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin Henderson and her husband Phil serve as church planters with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa. Elin is mother to nine-year-old Callie and six-year-old Elias.
