Jonathan Munson, Executive Director, RFTH

“I have come that you may have life and have it abundantly.”
John 10:10

The Lord spoke to me through a bumper sticker.

Let me explain.

I recently saw a car with a bumper sticker that said, “Pizza is life.” As the car drove away, the Spirit of God asked me a question: “Jonathan, what is ‘life’ to you?”  

Each of us must wrestle with this question because we are always looking to someone or something for life. By “life,” I mean way more than our physical existence; I mean that which brings vitality to our spirit. Unless you’re a die-hard pizza fanatic like the driver of that car, it’s probably not pizza, but it’s something. 

How do you know?

Simple. Remove the word ‘pizza,’ and you’re left with a fill-in-the-blank: “________________ is life.”

What would you write in that blank?

In other words, if that bumper sticker was on the back of your car, how would it read? “Work” is life? “Social media” is life? My “boyfriend/girlfriend” is life?  Whether we realize it or not, how we choose to fill in the blank is on constant display to those around us. There’s no hiding. Our daily behaviors testify where we believe real life is found.  

Here’s an inescapable truth: The resounding message of the Bible says, “Jesus is Life.” While many of us say we believe this statement, our behaviors are often out of sync with what we say we believe.

Jesus invites us to come to Him as the ultimate Source of satisfying, overflowing, eternal life. Apart from Him, we are physically alive, but “spiritually dead” and separated from our Heavenly Father” (Ephesians 2:1).

However, when we turn to Jesus, we experience life according to His original design: a life that is lived in fellowship with God. Intimacy with the Father, Son, and Spirit is the essence of abundant life (John 17:3). To be clear, life is “abundant,” not because we never suffer or experience stress. It’s not even abundant because we experience good fortune or material prosperity. Life is “abundant” because we have been reconciled to God and can enjoy a relationship with Him. Period.

But here’s our struggle. The world continually bombards us with messages telling us that life is found everywhere except in Jesus. If we’re not careful, we can slowly start drifting away from Him and seek life in the things of this world.

Please don’t misunderstand. We are free to enjoy the blessings of this world, like pizza. The key is not allowing these things, as wonderful as they are, to become the center of our lives. That space is reserved for Jesus and Jesus alone.

Author and pastor Paul Tripp sums it up well, “We are all searching for life, and there are only two places to look. You can look to the Creator for life, or you can search for life in what He created.“

What is ‘life’ to you? What truly brings joy and vitality to your spirit? Is it the Creator or His creation?

Again, I ask you to fill in the blank: “___________________ is life.”

Take a look at your thoughts, the motivations of your heart, and how you spend your time and resources. Follow the trail and it will reveal your answer, your true source of life.

Then, ask God for the grace to help you keep Jesus, and nothing but Jesus, written on that line.

DIG DEEPER
Read “What Does it Mean That Jesus is the Answer?” at GotQuestions.org