John 10:10 (Good New Translation)
10 The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness.
I recently received an email from a friend that head this scripture as it's sign-off. It couldn't have come at a better time in my life.
You know how you read something, whether it's in the bible, a novel, newspaper, blog, etc... and the first time you read it, it didn't really mean much to you? Then you read it again a month, year, or even decade later, and it takes on a whole new meaning?
Because of what you've been through, you interpret that text in an entirely new way.
Because of what you've been through, you interpret that text in an entirely new way.
That's what happened to me with John 10:10. Until recently, I'd read that passage and think "Alright. Satan wants me dead, wants to steal my precious belongings, and destroy my home and family. Jesus wants me to be holy and righteous. Jesus wants me to have <insert desire here>."
Reading it yesterday? It held a whole new meaning.
Recently, I've been real selfish. I've spent most of my time feeding my addictions, and I have a lot of them. Video games. Comic books. TV/Movies/YouTube. Pointless internet browsing. Food (specifically, junk food).
And I've been staying up far too late every night feeding these addiction. I want to stay up "Just another few minutes" so I can play one more game, eat one more snack, watch one more episode, read one more chapter. But it's never enough. That "one more <fill in the blank>" never satisfied.
All the while I'm ignoring God and my bible. Not talking to Him unless I'm desperate, or cut off from my addictions and incredibly bored.
How did this change my perspective on John 10:10? Let's go through the passage quick.
"The thief comes only in order to steal, kill, and destroy."
I didn't read this as literally this time. I believe satan (the thief) wants to steal my happiness, potential, and purpose by stealing/killing/destroying my time with worthless things. I have wasted SO much time playing video games, watching YouTube, and reading comics lately. I'm not saying these things are bad in and of themselves, but they've just sucked so much precious time out of my life.
I've come to a point where NONE of these things are making me happy. I just feel sucked dry. And I insanely go back to it, thinking "One more game/snack/episode" will do the trick.
It's like when you eat nothing but junk food. Sure, it tastes really good the instant you put it in your mouth, but over the long haul you feel more and more miserable. Ironically, the more miserable you get, the more junk food you eat. When you finally break out of the cycle (by eating healthier, eating less, sleeping more, exercising, etc...) you lose that initial rush of satisfaction from the junk food, but you gain a long term, overall feeling of wellness and satisfaction that the junk food never brings.
And THAT is what I think the second part of the passage is all about. "I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness." Jesus brings you a satisfaction that the junk can never deliver. "Life in it's fullness." Not simply stuff we want, but a life that has purpose, affects others and... hmmm... maybe I'm speaking overly spiritual. Let me give you a real life example, and see if that helps.
Last night I finally stopped being selfish. At least for one evening. Instead of playing video games, or reading, or watching YouTube, I put a cabinet together that my wife ordered online. I was NOT looking forward to it. I read about this cabinet on Amazon and a lot of reviews said it was VERY tricky to put together. Some even said you had to drill new holes so the screws fit better.
I am NOT a handyman. AT ALL. So this stressed me out. But I had decided to put myself aside, and do this for my wife. So I looked at the instructions, and some tips online, and slowly (with my 8 year old son's help) put this cabinet together.
By the end of the night, we did it! I was sore, had a huge bruise on my thumb from using the screwdriver on some stubborn areas of the cabinet, and I was TIRED.
But I felt GOOD.
That wonderful kind of tired good, where you know you did something productive. Even better, I'd done something for someone else. I "loved my neighbor as myself." It might have not been easy, and didn't hold the initial rush of a video game, but I felt REALLY good. A guilt-free good that both God and myself are REALLY happy about.
I think that's part of the "life in all it's fullness" Jesus talked about. And that's the kind of life satan wants to steal away from us. He doesn't want us to be productive in a good way. He doesn't want us to help others. He wants us to be full of ourselves, and closed off from other's lives. He wants to cut off our God given potential, and ability to affect someone else's life for the better. He wants to convince us that we'll fail if we do anything other than sit in front of the TV and binge. A Netflix marathon is SO much safer than bringing a neighbor cookies, or writing that blog you've ignored for two months.
(Ahem....)
I hope this post has made your day a bit better. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Maybe you have a similar story to share?
It's like when you eat nothing but junk food. Sure, it tastes really good the instant you put it in your mouth, but over the long haul you feel more and more miserable. Ironically, the more miserable you get, the more junk food you eat. When you finally break out of the cycle (by eating healthier, eating less, sleeping more, exercising, etc...) you lose that initial rush of satisfaction from the junk food, but you gain a long term, overall feeling of wellness and satisfaction that the junk food never brings.
And THAT is what I think the second part of the passage is all about. "I have come in order that you might have life—life in all its fullness." Jesus brings you a satisfaction that the junk can never deliver. "Life in it's fullness." Not simply stuff we want, but a life that has purpose, affects others and... hmmm... maybe I'm speaking overly spiritual. Let me give you a real life example, and see if that helps.
Last night I finally stopped being selfish. At least for one evening. Instead of playing video games, or reading, or watching YouTube, I put a cabinet together that my wife ordered online. I was NOT looking forward to it. I read about this cabinet on Amazon and a lot of reviews said it was VERY tricky to put together. Some even said you had to drill new holes so the screws fit better.
I am NOT a handyman. AT ALL. So this stressed me out. But I had decided to put myself aside, and do this for my wife. So I looked at the instructions, and some tips online, and slowly (with my 8 year old son's help) put this cabinet together.
By the end of the night, we did it! I was sore, had a huge bruise on my thumb from using the screwdriver on some stubborn areas of the cabinet, and I was TIRED.
But I felt GOOD.
That wonderful kind of tired good, where you know you did something productive. Even better, I'd done something for someone else. I "loved my neighbor as myself." It might have not been easy, and didn't hold the initial rush of a video game, but I felt REALLY good. A guilt-free good that both God and myself are REALLY happy about.
I think that's part of the "life in all it's fullness" Jesus talked about. And that's the kind of life satan wants to steal away from us. He doesn't want us to be productive in a good way. He doesn't want us to help others. He wants us to be full of ourselves, and closed off from other's lives. He wants to cut off our God given potential, and ability to affect someone else's life for the better. He wants to convince us that we'll fail if we do anything other than sit in front of the TV and binge. A Netflix marathon is SO much safer than bringing a neighbor cookies, or writing that blog you've ignored for two months.
(Ahem....)
I hope this post has made your day a bit better. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Maybe you have a similar story to share?
