What's up with that?
- Details
- 30 Sep
I am going to start this off by asking two questions?
1 – “Did you have the perfect week?” In other words, you never had one difficulty? Your week was like floating through a eutopia? And I am not talking about the Bok’s win and Ireland’s loss to Japan ?
2 – “Did you encounter difficulties this week?” 
What’s up with that? We are all Christians. Why is life not perfect? After all Jesus promises us abundant life. Remember his words in the book of John, “A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow!” John 10:10 The Passion Translation (TPT)
The thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. The evil one seeks to destroy. And when we are playing in this game of life there is another team on the field opposing us. But in John 19:30 we read – When he (Jesus) had sipped the sour wine, He said, “It is finished, my bride!” Then he bowed his head and surrendered his spirit to God. (TPT) I love that paraphrase, “It is finished, my bride”, Jesus is saying this to us His church, “It is finished, my church” He is saying it to you and to me. It is finished and the evil one has been defeated but he rages on seeking to steal, slaughter, and destroy. And until Jesus returns, he will continue to.
Think of it this way.
The Springboks are playing in the World Cup. They played Namibia. The fate of Namibia was inevitable. There is no way they were going to defeat the Boks. They knew it and we knew it. In fact their goal in the World Cup is to beat Canada, so they rested their best players. But the Boks still had to play the game to advance and there was a risk of some injuries while the game was being played. The Boks outpowered, out maneuvered and outplayed Namibia and in the end won the game. However, there was still the possibility of injuries.
Life for us as Christians is very much the same. The game is won! Jesus Himself said “It is finished” The victory is assured. We have power and authority in Jesus.
However, Until that final whistle blows, and we pass through to be with Jesus, or He returns, whichever comes first; There could be injuries, there could be bumps and bruises, there could be weariness. There could even be death. These are the times we are. This is the place we live in. We are playing the game of life, and while we know the outcome will be victory, we are still in the game. And the reality is that there is a very real team playing against us…
This is the THE TENSION OF THE KINGDOM.
The evil one is the thief who has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But Jesus has come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow. Jesus is not like the thief and doesn’t come for selfish reasons. He comes to give, not to get. He comes that people may have life in Him that is meaningful, purposeful, joyful, and eternal.
When we live our lives in the game of life, remember there is another team on the field playing against us. One who only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But we have Jesus who came that we may everything in abundance, more than you expect—life in its fullness until you overflow.
Friend, look to Jesus and live your life to the full! Fix your eyes on Jesus… Paul challenges us this way, “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3). If you do that you will get through.
