The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10 (NIV)
What a Full Life Means
Just before Jesus said these words, a man who had been born blind was given his sight. The religious leaders questioned him, then his parents, then him again, and when he defended Jesus instead of calling him a sinner, they threw him out. Jesus heard about it and found him.
Some Pharisees were standing with Jesus when he started talking about sheep. The thief, he said, comes only to steal and kill and destroy. The hired hand runs when the wolf comes, because the sheep were never his. Jesus calls himself the gate and the good shepherd, the one who calls his own sheep by name and lays down his life for them.
So life to the full is what that man had, standing outside with Jesus after his own leaders had thrown him out. It’s life with the shepherd who found him. It can be full in a hard year, and full with very little in the bank.
If you’ve been pushed out of somewhere, or let down by people who should have cared for you, the shepherd knows your name.
A Prayer to Remember
Dear Lord, you found the man the leaders had thrown out. Thank you that you know my name, too. Lead me, and let my life be full because it’s with you.
In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
