To Encourage You

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

Talk about a contrast!  In the passage above, which side do you want to be on?!  Two ways. Two endpoints. And they are drastically different. So, wouldn’t you think that if you had a choice, you’d pick option two? Seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?  However, if you want a very clear example of how much sin has affected the human heart, notice what Jesus had to say about these two ways in Matthew 7:13-14: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” It makes little sense, but that’s the way it is, as the reprobate mind would rather follow the way of a thief than the way of One who does just the opposite. 

So how does the thief DO it? How does he convince the vast majority of people that HIS is the better way?  Well, certainly one way he does this is by way of the system he operates. It’s called the “world.”  It’s a system that Satan controls by infiltrating the media, government, religion, and so many other components of the world we live in. Jesus hates it, because He hates what it does to us.  Listen to what God says about it all in 1 John 2:15-17: “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” 

You see, this world and all its Satan-controlled systems are going down.  Until that time, Satan is working overtime to steal from, kill, and destroy everyone he possibly can. He takes full advantage of man’s sinful, natural desires to lure people into all kinds of traps whereby he can do this.  He is in control of a world that glorifies sexual immorality but that leaves in its wake disease, regret, shame, mental anguish, and the death of the unborn.  He is in control of a world that is filled with adultery and that leaves devastated spouses and children in its wake. He is in control of a world that glorifies the self but that has no answer for the anxiety and depression and the neglect for others in need to which a self-centered life so often leads.  And he is in control of a world filled with lies and falsehood with its empty philosophies and false religions that promise great things but deliver absolutely nothing in the end. 

So, as you read the Bible and its prescriptions for abundant life, know that every time someone you are following promises that there is a better way, they are under the influence of the Thief that has nothing good for you in the end.  And every time you listen and obey the Word of God you are on a path that leads to life. 

But there’s only one way that such obedience is possible. There’s only one way that opens our blind eyes and exposes the way of the Thief for what it really is and the way of Christ and what it really is. And that one way is to follow the One Who is the WAY, the Truth, and the Life.  So how does one really follow Him?  It’s by believing what He has said. It’s by believing that He is Who He said He is, that He died for our sins like He said He did, that we are sinners that are hopelessly lost, blind, lame and sick spiritually without Him, and turning to Him in repentance by confessing our sin and asking Him to be the Lord of our life. Put another way, “if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:9-10). Saved from the way of the world. Saved from the dominion of the Thief. And saved eternally to the abundant life that only comes One Way, i.e., by Way of the One Whose very name is Truth.