Live a Lot

Driving down the Interstate in southern Louisiana, I saw the billboard (multiple times) that said, "Live a lot." Now, if you looked closely enough, the small print said that it was an advertisement for a large casino in the area, but the bold print caught my eye. "Live a lot." It got me to thinking about Jesus's words:

I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10).

Now, there are plenty of folks around that are happy to tell you that this is a promise from Jesus that we should live a full and happy life, rich in health and wealth. I'm not seeing that. I find that to be a narrow view of "life". Others feel like they've been shortchanged because their experience of the Christian life has been a life more restricted, not more abundant. They've experienced real suffering, real loss, real pain, real hard times, and they think, "This is life more abundantly???" I understand that feeling, but it makes me wonder if that reflects what Christ meant about having a more abundant life. And there are a lot of us that identify with Paul's struggles in Rom. 7. We want to live godly lives yet still agonize over our ongoing struggle with sin. Now, how is that "abundant life"? I've actually read some people who said that this was Jesus's call to take better care of yourself. That seems like a real long shot. So what was Jesus talking about?

There are several ways to apply Jesus's concept of the "more abundant life". First, of course, is the term "eternal life". That's what He came to bring. That's certainly "more abundant life" than "eternal death", the result of sin. Second, there is the fact that we have additional life in Christ -- the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. According to Phil. 2:13, God in us generates the willingness and ability to do that which pleases Him. Clearly those without the Spirit lack those components. Therefore, they lack that much life. Paul writes that we have died to sin (Rom. 6:2), and that we now have "Christ in you". That's the mystery (Col. 1:27) that sets us apart from everyone else. Now that is "more abundant life" -- having the resurrected Savior in us. The Christian life, in fact, is Christ's life then lived out by Christ now in us. Seriously, life in those terms doesn't get more abundant.

I suspect that one aspect of the abundant life that we largely miss is the one found in Ephesians.

Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen (Eph. 3:20-21).

Paul exceeds his capacity to express the size of the idea here. "Exceedingly abundantly above" is the phrase. "Super super beyond." Not really beyond. Not really really beyond. God is able to go really, really, really beyond. Beyond what? Beyond our requests; beyond our imaginations. You go ahead and dream about what God could do in your life ... and He can exceed it. Good stuff. But don't stop there. How does God exceed what you can even dream about your life? "According to the power that worketh in us." This isn't a theoretical. This isn't an "out there" thought. This is an actual power that is currently at work in us. God can exceed what you can dream by simply employing the power He already has at work in you. Imagine that! We struggle. We pray. We dream. We wish. We work and we fail. Everyday life can feel mundane, but the truth is that there is nothing that God cannot accomplish in our lives, even beyond what we can imagine.

So, go ahead! Live a lot! Push the boundaries of what you think you can do for God. Slip off those borders that you put on things. "Oh, I could never do that for God. That's outside of my possibilities." No, it's not. If you can conceive it, He can do it and more. "Sure, I've heard or seen Him do it in others' lives, but not mine." If you can conceive it, He can do it and more. Go ahead! Live ... a lot!