The top five Google hits for “life is” are:
- Life is good.
- Life is strange.
- Life is a highway.
- Life is beautiful.
- Life is strange
How do you complete the expression “life is?” Is life a journey, a song, a game, a dream, a sacrifice, a gift? Is life grand, depressing, inspiring, gloomy, joyful, discouraging, hopeful, dull?
As we kick off another season of ministry, we celebrate life—the life we have in Jesus. Jesus said, “I came that you might have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
This statement comes after Jesus warns about the thief who wants to harm the sheep. The thief steals, slaughters, and destroys. But Jesus, the Good Shepherd, loves the sheep. Jesus offers an abundance of green pastures and refreshing. The Good Shepherd cares for the sheep giving them life to the full.
We are the sheep and Jesus offers us life to the full—abundance. We discover this abundance when we abide with Jesus. Life is full in Jesus!
Of course many of us sheep still feel tension between life as we live it and life as Jesus describes it. We sometimes live lives less full. Jesus invites us to an upside-down life by worldly standards, but really this life is life turned right-side-up.
We celebrate life lived to the fullest. We celebrate hope for life in this world (and the next) as we follow Jesus the Good Shepherd. We celebrate the impact that the abundant life has on our world. We celebrate life.
In this season I hope that we do not forget our lessons learned about finding rest, but that we live these lessons out in the everyday stuff of life. This fall, abide with Jesus and discover what life is.
The Lord be with you,
Pastor Kent