The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly.
Have you ever said someone was, “out to get you” or, “had it out for you”? These phrases express that we feel like someone is going out of their way to harm us. We sense specific malicious intent toward us. And Jesus made it clear: the enemy is out to get you. He is the author of stealing, killing, and destroying, but all his malicious intent is not always so obvious as we would like to believe. We are often deceived when the enemy comes to steal our joy, peace, boldness, and other things that are rightfully ours in Christ! When we understand how destructive the enemy is, we start to see why God has warned us so strongly about him.
Following Jesus means we don’t live like the enemy. When we follow Jesus, we no longer look for what we can get from others, but how we can glorify God with what we have. Jesus came so we would have life and have it abundantly. He is not out to get us with a standard of life we cannot handle but points us to Himself, leading us to depend on Him rather than our own strength and intuition. He leads us to serve others with our time and resources. He leads us to give to build up His church and equip others to know abundant life in Him.
- How have you seen the destructiveness of the enemy?
- How can you use your time and resources to glorify God and reflect His generosity?
- Pray and thank God that He is the author of life, peace, joy, and all that is good. Pray for someone you know that does not have that hope yet.
