Full of LIFE!

Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

-John 10:7-10

Spring is such a beautiful time to reflect on new life.  The flowers are blooming.  The trees are budding and life is returning all around us.  Cold, winter days have passed and we anticipate the summer heat.  Just as the seasons change, our lives experience seasons as well.  We have summers of growth.  We experience the autumns of harvest in our lives.  We also struggle through long, lonely seasons of winter in times of grief and loss.  God gives us all of the seasons in order that we experience life to the fullest.

Jesus used the example of being the Good Shepherd for his sheep in John 10.  He compared the Good Shepherd with the thief who only comes to steal, kill, and destroy.  Anytime I wonder if an idea comes from God or if it comes from the enemy, I ask myself, “Does this give life, or steal it?  Does this action bring love or will it steal, kill and destroy relationships?”  In that way, I am better prepared to discern which way God is leading.

God’s desire for us is to have full, vibrant, meaningful lives.  Many people seem to be sleep-walking through their lives rather than truly living them.  What does a full life look like to you?  Jesus wants to lead you in that path.

You long to fill us with your comfort and peace, Still Waters of Grace, but we continue to take on more anxiety, more worry, more fear.  You would comfort us in the gentleness of your hope, but we welcome the embrace of a world spinning more and more out of control.  You would feed us with more than we need, but we continue to hunger for the sweet sensations offered to us by temptation. You keep your promises and offer us forgiveness and mercy all the days of our life.  May we keep our eyes focused on the path you have shaped for us; may we listen to the call of the Good Shepherd who leads us into your joy, that kingdom prepared for us by Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.  Amen.