My failings as a parent were many. But I can honestly say that all I did (or didn’t do) for my kids was an honest attempt for them to have an abundant life then and even now that they are grown and on their own.
In John 10:10, Jesus declared, “I have come that they might have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
It is my personal conviction that the abundant life Jesus came to bring is more than eternal life. I believe the abundant life is to be enjoyed both now and forever. Consider a couple of statements from our Lord in this respect.
In Luke 6:38, (Luke 6 is a parallel to the Sermon on the Mount), Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”
I love the picture of “pressed down and shaken together.” It reminds me of opening bags of potato chips. Those bags are full when they are processed. But through the moving and shaking of transport, stocking, etc., the content settles to the bottom, making the bag look only half full by the time you get home. Jesus said the bag of the abundant life is full! There’s no warning that “contents may have settled!”
Also, in Mark 10:29-30, Jesus told the twelve, “Assuredly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age come, eternal life.”
Note the incredible abundance Jesus promises “in this time.” No matter what one must sacrifice for the sake of Jesus and the gospel, it shall be repaid a hundred times over in this life!
Finally, note that the abundant life is not free from pain or persecution. This helps us to understand that our high calling brings true joy in spite of external circumstances.
Embrace the abundant life!
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