Life to the Max!

In yesterday's reading we read John 10v10 which says this... 'I (Jesus) have come that they (us) may have life, and have it to the full.' 

I LOVE THIS VERSE!  Let me explain why.

I guess my personal, life-long motto is 'to live life to the full'.  For me that means to experience as much as possible, to feel the whole array of emotions that are on offer (including sadness, anger and annoyance), to see as much as I can, to go as many places as I can, to meet as many people as I can, to enjoy things as much as I can, to make a difference as much as I can, to bless and be blessed as much as I can, to be as passionate as I can about the things I am passionate about, to go out dancing, to eat the best food, to see my favourite bands when possible, to marvel at a 5am sunrise, to stare in wonder at the vast oceans and the way the water glistens in the dusk light, to use what little I have to bless many, and to have as intimate a relationship as I can with my Lord.  For me, this is life to the full, and for me, (like the Bible says) Jesus came to give us this full, rich, abundant life through His death on the cross so we can access our loving Father without our stinking sin blocking the path to Him. So I am going to enjoy it to the max!

As my good friend Rob has kindly commented on a previous blog post, 'the awesome thing about God giving us free will is that we get to choose whether we follow Him or not'.  We don't have to follow God.  We have the decision not to believe.  Yet with all choices, I believe there are consequences.  I also believe that you can have a pretty awesome life without God.  Not everyone feels they need a belief or to follow a scripture.  Many people don't and still have a full life.  Praise God for His mercies and love in blessing people who choose not to follow Him with a rich and full life.  That's just how great He is.

Yet just imagine how much greater that already full life could be with with the acknowledgement of God - businesses could flourish even further, glints of loneliness may never be an issue again, there would be increased purpose, increased blessings, the secure knowledge of your final destiny, the knowledge that someone is looking out for you and is with you - walking every step of the way, extended inner peace and joy, someone to turn to if things did go wrong, the knowledge that you are loved unconditionally, and further freedom - particularly from sin (we all do it).  If you are one of those people who is blessed to have everything you need, and no need for God, (jealous!), have you ever thought about the fact perhaps God loves you so much that He has just decided to bless you anyways?  What if all of your success and fullness is from God anyways?  I am no expert and I am not trying to convince you one way or another, these are just some ideas I'm playing around with.

So back to life to the full.  Why is it that often Christians get it SOOOOOOO wrong, and actually make life with Christ seem more like a chore and a burden than life to the full?  So maybe this is just me, but stick with me here (and I mean no offense).  Guys, in Christ we have freedom from sin, an eternal destiny, a Friend, a Saviour, atonement with our Father, love lavished on us, a Comforter, a Healer, a Provider, a Lover, a Guide.  We never have to fear because God has been there before us and levelled the mountains.  He is the God of peace, mercy, love, joy, kindness, GRACE...!  Our sins are forgiven! We are no longer condemned.  We have direct access to the King of Kings, the Holy of Holies because through Jesus dying on the cross, the curtain to the throne room containing God was torn in two allowing us direct access to God (symbollic of our sins, which once prevented our access to God, being wiped away)!  Nothing formed against us can prosper, God has good plans for us, He is for us and not against us!  And please, God is not contsantly pointing the finger at us - He is loving, faithful, just, slow to anger, abounding in love!!!

Christians - why do we so often live in this mentality of unappreciation, self-loathing, 'I'm a sinner' type thinking?  And why do we often make our lives so dull and boring!  I know 'a night on the town' isn't everyone's thing, but last night for me, it was SO great to bump into two groups of Christians dancing the night away, having a fab time, being in the world, but not of it.  My darling brother loves a good drink.  But just because he is a Christian is doesn't mean he has given it all up and sits at home reading his Bible every day - no, he just limits his intake of alcohol to 3 drinks so that he is still in control, but is still enjoying a drink.  As you all know, I LOVE rock music.  Whilst there have been times in my life where I have had to cut up certain CD's having a negative influence on me, and limit the sorts of music I am listening to, I still listen to a lot of this genre of music in celebration of this God-given passion in me.  I will not stifle who I am, and I refuse to live my life any less than full!  For some of us, yes it is right to 'cut things out' if they are causing us to sin.  But all too often we live our Christian lives like some sort of sacrificial, religious fast - cutting out anything and everything including our joy!  No, no, no! 

So, let's STOP living like being a Christian is like havng a death sentence hanging over us and let's start living this God given life TO THE FULL!!!!!