In one of my favorite bible verses, found in John 10, Jesus says, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. The Message version says it like this: I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
Life.
Life to the full.
More and better life.
The reality for all of us is that this is what we are looking for and longing to have.
It is why we spend money on things. It is why we pack our schedule, why we have kids, go on vacation, choose the job that we do.
We do it in hopes of finding life in hopes of finding meaning.
Yet, few people know what it is they are searching for.
Have you ever stopped to ask, why am I doing this? And, if I do this, where will it take me? The only time we ask those questions is when stress hits or life falls apart. Another question that rarely gets asked is, “What does this promise me, and will that promise be fulfilled?”
So we pack out our schedules; we run from one relationship to another, never getting too close to people; we find ourselves unfulfilled at every turn, and we wonder why.
For many of us, if you are a Christian, we think that we need to spend more time reading our bibles, being in more bible studies, or praying more. And while those might help, we miss something in the process.
Throughout the gospels, Jesus walks up to people, has conversations with them, and challenges them to follow him.
Then, as they follow him, he doesn’t say this is how early you should pray, this is how much you should read your bible or tithe. Instead, he says, “Watch me, do what I do, take my yoke upon you, and you will find rest. You will find life.”
As John Mark Comer, “To experience the life Jesus has for us, we have to adopt the lifestyle of Jesus.”
The invitation that Jesus gives to his first disciples and us is not just about heaven and eternal life. It is also about life now and the longings that we all have. The longings for meaning and purpose. Jesus invites them and us to follow him but to stay in the same lane. Not to take them out of their life or out of what they were doing or were passionate about. Were they excited about their job as fishermen and tax collectors? I don’t know, but they did it. And Jesus said they would keep fishing, but in a different way.
Are we always passionate about our job or stage in life? Sometimes but often, we aren’t.
When Jesus invites us to follow Him, he gives us purpose. He redirects what we are already doing for his purposes so that it brings more fulfillment to us but also a more significant eternal impact.
Jesus is inviting us to see what we do differently so that we can have more and better life.
