I Have Come That They May Have LIFE!

A clear sign that the church has failed to communicate the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and/or people have not heard the true Gospel, is the desperate attempt of many to declare that their lives matter … whether a particular ethnic group, a particular age group or a particular social group. You can be “cancelled” and accused of not caring about people simply by stating that “ALL lives matter!” But what does that really mean anyway?? What criteria are people using to determine if a life “matters”? What is it that gives life value? When Jesus said He was the Good Shepherd who came to lay down His life for His sheep, He explained that He had come that they (we who believe) “may have LIFE, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10). Life in this world (physical life), without the “life” Jesus gives (spiritual life), leads to a life that is in many respects “worthless.” The value of life in this world is determined by its usefulness to God, its Creator, and only those who are born again by the Spirit of God can and will discover the true meaning and purpose for our existence: to glorify the God who gave us LIFE!! Remember Jesus’ definition of eternal life in John 17:3: “THIS is eternal life: that they know YOU, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom You have sent.” Your life, then, “matters,” when you understand that you have been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ, to exist in this world as one of Jesus’ sheep, as a new creation in Christ, as a child of God.  It is the knowledge of your new identity that convinces you that your life “matters” as you live it in obedience to God’s Word and for His glory. Through the testimony of His Spirit through His Word, you know you have life from God now, and you know you will have life with Him for eternity. Armed with this knowledge, you are able to avoid the temptation to find your worth anywhere else. Your life matters because GOD says it does! You have exchanged the pursuit of the “abundant life” people around you crave, and are empowered by God to live out HIS life, the life HE has given you, “abundantly.” May you know this truth today, believing that Jesus knows His sheep by name … and solely because of that, YOUR life matters!!