"Have Life More Abundantly!"

John records in chapter 10 and verse 10 that our Lord came that we "might have life and have it more abundantly." Life is brief at best and God expects us to grasp the fullness and beauty of it. When the proper ingredients are added, life takes on a pleasantness which is otherwise missed. Jesus declared in Matthew 5:13 that We are the "salt of the earth." Our saltiness is meant to give flavor to the lives of all that we touch. The "Laodiceans were neither cold nor hot," therefore lacking "zestos" (Rev. 3:15).

We need to try to stay healthy. John recorded this admonition to Gaius: "I wish above all things that you may prosper and be in health" (3 John 2). Good health requires that we rest, have proper diet and physical exercise. Jesus and His apostles took every opportunity to rest (Mk. 6:31), and Paul told Timothy that there was some profit in bodily exercise (1 Tim. 4:8). God's word orders that we should take care of the physical aspects of our bodies. In 1 Corinthians 6:19, Paul wrote "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?"

Becoming and remaining joyful is critical to ones "abundant life." Solomon observed that "The spirit of man will sustain his infirmity…" (Proverbs 18:14). Early Christians were joyful: in Jerusalem, they "ate with gladness" (Acts 2:46); there was great joy in Samaria (Acts 8:8); the Ethiopian left the waters of baptism rejoicing (Acts 8:39) and the converted jailor rejoiced (Acts 16:34). Joy is an emotion that we, as Christians, should feel regardless of present circumstances. We are joyful because we are on our way to a home in heaven when this life is over.

Keeping busy helps maintain zeal. Idleness is the menace of earthly aspiration and a bar to heaven's door! The one talent man lost his reward because of laziness (Matt. 25:26). Doctors report that more than 33% of their patients suffer from inactivity and emptiness of life. The Bible points us to the sluggard and slothfulness despairingly (Prov. 6:6; Rom. 12:11).

Keep in touch with God. A kerosene lamp will be extinguished when cut off. A Christian will do the same when forgetting the source of his power.