SCRIPTURE: The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. John 10:10 AMP
THOUGHT: Although on the surface, Jesus is telling a parable about sheep and shepherds and hired hands and wolves, a timeless and cosmic significance underscore his words, and it’s the message he’s come to deliver: God loves life and gives life, and God’s enemy seeks to destroy it. Over and over he tells this story. One day it’s about a vineyard, the next a sheepfold, and then it’s a farmer with seed. One day it’s about a lost son or coin or sheep, the next a hired hand, the next weeds and enemies. But it’s always about life, and how and why that precious commodity gets lost.
I guess what I’m really trying to say is don’t miss the big message: God loves life. He authored it, he sustains it. He made humans capable of making new life. In fact, he is so passionate about life that he made it eternal. And after the thief came to steal it, he found the pawn shop and bought it back, drawing on his own life to pay. And he pays every day, redeeming what has been lost to death and addiction and lies and abuse.
In this world, it pretty much boils down to just two things: life and thieves. We have to decide which story we’re going to live. Is it in the big story of God, or in the thousand lesser stories of how the sweet gift of life gets lost?
SONG: The Shepherd’s Voice https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mX1EKVQZchc&list=OLAK5uy_lzawfqw7nGeTt3qyxE8s1ULG-Bs_EDrGM&index=6
PRAYER: Oh God, help us love life as you do, and help us navigate our lives toward the sound of your voice and away from the thief.
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Blogger Amy Clemens is the author of Walking When You’d Rather Fly: Meditations on Faith After the Fall. In it she explores childhood sexual abuse and how it impacted her faith (or lack thereof) for four decades. You’ll find not only her story, but better yet, the Big Story of God.
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