The thief comes only to kill and destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
John 10:10

I’ve been thinking about this verse a lot lately, and I’ve come to the conclusion that living an abundant life is a lot easier said than done.
We get up, get ready, go to work, come home, eat dinner, watch tv, go to bed.
Repeat.
Sound familiar?
Sure, sometimes we go out, or exercise, or switch it up somehow – but not that much.
Add to this pattern anything stressful or traumatic and we just want to curl up in a ball and never come out.  

Is any of this really abundant?
Is this really the kind of life Jesus wanted for us when he spoke these words?
And if it’s not, what does abundant life look like?

The Greek word used by this verse in John is περισσός – perissos. (pear-ee-so-s)
It means exceeding, more than necessary, over and above, beyond measure.
This is what life with Christ looks like.
More than.
Bigger.
Full.
Anything else, even the routine “day in day out” kind of life – that is the thief stealing from us the life God intended us to have.
So when fear and anxiety over the future start to take over – that’s the thief.
When hopelessness wells up from within and overwhelms you – that’s the thief.
Call it out.
When you feel those things – call them out for what they are – that’s the thief.
It’s not God.
God is not fear and anxiety.
God is not hopelessness.

God is peace and joy and gratitude:
     even in the face of the worst life has to offer.
even in the midst of the routine and ordinary

God is abundant life.

I’ve just finished reading “It’s Okay to Laugh” By Nora McInerny Purmort.  It’s a memoir about life before, during, and after her life as she knew it fell apart.

(Side note – It’s incredible, go read it now.)  

But amidst the vast amounts of awesomeness, a quote from Nora’s friend Mary stuck out like a beacon to me. Mary’s husband died of brain cancer and she was taking one day at a time, but never caving into the desire to just do enough get through the day, or even give up completely.  In one of their many conversations, Mary said to Nora:

“I believe we have a sacred responsibility to live fully in the face of our losses”

Yeah, we need to hear that again:  

I believe we have a sacred responsibility to live fully in the face of our losses.

Fully.
Perissos.

We are meant to do more than go through the motions of life, but to have life and live it over and above. It’s our sacred responsibility – we were created to have abundant life, not just life.
That’s the life we were given.
The life we were given by God.
A life filled with love and peace and joy and gratitude.
A life of abundance.
Even in the darkest moments.
Even in those moments where the thief is hard at work to steal the life we’ve been given.

We have been given new life by God. It is more. It exceeds anything else we can see or plan or even imagine.  

So get up.
Call out that thief.
And start now, living the life you’ve been given.
Go.
God goes with you.