The More and Better Life

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. John 10:10 KJV

Jesus never spoke promises half heartedly. His words can be taken at face value and owned. Jesus promised that He would give us life more abundantly. Do we have any idea what a more abundant life looks like? The MESSAGE defines it as a “more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” The Amplified Bible says it means “to the full, till it overflows.” According to Strong’s Concordance, the original Greek definition of abundantly is “superabundant (in quantity) or superior (in quality); excessive, exceeding abundantly above, more abundantly, very highly, beyond measure, superfluous.” If we limit this to just the physical, material possessions of our life, many of us would assume the abundant life was not what Jesus intended for us.

Jesus Himself did not pattern a life of affluence, popularity, comfort, or ease. He knew tears, betrayal, cruelty, and homelessness. He felt the sting of rejection, misunderstanding, disbelief, and scorn. From a crude manger for a birth place to the cross of Calvary, He did not live a life that most people would consider abundant! But maybe that is because they have a wrong concept of an abundant life.

It has been said that we cannot give away what we don’t first possess for ourselves. Jesus is offering to give us life more abundantly because that is the kind of life He possessed here on earth and still possesses today. What were the marks of His abundant life? A walk of obedience and connection to His Heavenly Father. It was not found in what He had but in who He knew. Not in what He did but in who He was. Now He did many miraculous things but none of them defined Him. They simply showcased His identity.

What does all of this mean to me this morning? The quality of my life is based on my connection to God and demonstrated in my obedience to Him. My words and actions flow out of my relationship with my heavenly Father. Each day I have an opportunity to showcase my identity which is found in Christ. I am His precious, cherished, much loved child! Therefore I am given a life that truly is more and better than I ever dreamed of!

Father, today I open my hands to receive the more and better life You offer. May it flow out of me in marvelous ways! Amen.