“I have come that they might have life, and have it to the full.”
John 10:10
“AMAZING!”
“A REMARKABLE MOVIE!”
“FIVE STARS!”
Have you ever watched a popular movie or show and thought to yourself, “What is everyone is raving about? It’s way overrated.”
This happens to me a lot. Maybe I’ve grown harder to please as I’ve gotten older, but I find most entertainment average at best.
It’s one thing to think that the latest show on Netflix is overrated, but have you ever felt like following Jesus is overrated? I have, especially early in my faith journey.
As a young follower of Jesus, I had trouble reconciling Jesus’ promise of full, abundant life with my daily experiences in a fallen world: stress at work, family dysfunction, health struggles, financial pressure, relational heartaches, etc., etc.
For most of us, the hard realities of daily life leave us feeling a bit discombobulated. Scratching our heads, we wonder, “Where’s this so-called abundant life that Jesus promised?” We might never say it out loud, yet the question lingers in the back of our minds and threatens to slowly drive a wedge between us and the Lord.
That’s why it’s important to not have false expectations of what Jesus means by, “abundant life.” False expectations lead to disappointment. And when we’re disappointed with the Lord, we start to drift away from Him.
You see, there is often a fundamental misunderstanding of what Jesus means by “abundant life.”
Abundance does not mean the absence of adversity.
On one hand, we know that Jesus has not promised us endless success, prosperity, or material blessings. Nor did He say that life on earth would be a problem-free stroll down Easy Street. In fact, just the opposite. (See John 16:33)
But when trials rattle our personal worlds, we are often “surprised by this fiery ordeal that has come upon us” (1 Peter 4:12) and wrongly conclude that Jesus has over-promised and under-delivered.
Satan’s ultimate goal is to get us to walk away from Jesus altogether. And if he can’t knock us off course by our struggles with sin, he may use adversity to make us doubt the validity of Jesus’ promise.
So, be careful not to believe Satan’s whispered lies. Unlike Jesus, the enemy won’t lead you to life but to destruction. He is a thief who is trying to “kill and destroy.” Jesus, on the other hand, is our “Good Shepherd” who laid down His life so that we can experience fellowship with Him (John 10:11). Here’s what I’ve come to understand-
The abundant life is found not in the absence of adversity but in the presence of Jesus, both now and forevermore. (See John 17:3)
Put another way, Jesus Himself is the “abundant life.” Through Him, we can have an intimate relationship with God and experience His indwelling presence. And it’s His Spirit, His presence with us, that sustains us during our darkest trials.
Though adversity is unavoidable in the here and now, a day is coming when our difficulties will be gone forever.
You see, one day, we’ll experience the presence of Jesus in a place where “there will be no more death, mourning, or crying or pain” (Revelation 21:4). Oh, how I long for that day!
Until then, let me leave you with some advice that someone once shared with me: “Don’t get frustrated with Jesus for failing to do in the present what He’s promised to do in the future.”
Keep following, Jesus, my friend. Don’t give up. Yes, life can be hard, but Jesus is leading us to a place of Eternal Glory, where suffering will no longer exist.
I have a feeling that when we finally get there….and we see Him face to face…we won’t think it’s overrated.
Written by Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH
DIG DEEPER
Read “Are You Serious About Following Jesus?” by Bryant Wright
