The Life

“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25)

If the past two years have shown us anything, it’s that people sure are willing to go to great lengths to preserve their lives.  Hatred and judgment are running rampant throughout the world right now.  I have seen people actually wishing for the suffering and death of others based on their health decisions.  How did we get here?  Has our fear completely taken away all our reason and our compassion for our fellow man?

There is only one path to life, and that is through Jesus Christ.  Men and women have followed Him gladly unto death, having found the true meaning of life in Him.  Jesus doesn’t call us into the shadows, where fear abounds, truth is hidden, and shame flourishes.  Jesus calls us out of that darkness and into the light, His light.  The life Jesus gives us is marked with peace and fullness and joy.  Life comes through belief in Jesus Christ.  If we put all of our time and effort and thought into preserving this life, we are going to lose it.  If we put all of our time and effort and thought into following Jesus Christ, we are going to gain everything. 

When I look back at my life, the things I regret most are the things I didn’t do because of fear.  I didn’t trust God and I missed out on opportunities to be with my family or share the Gospel.  This woman at the well was so fearful of others that she came to the well when nobody else would be there so she wouldn’t have to face them.  One encounter with Jesus is all it takes to defeat that fear and send her running to tell everyone that she has met the Messiah and He has given her new life. 

Jesus is Life.  It’s time we take our focus off our circumstances and put it back on our Lord.  There are many things competing for our attention and our fear right now, but the only fear that can do us any good is the fear of the Lord.  We need to start there.  When we see Jesus as Life itself, all of these other spectacles fade away and we can live the way our Creator intended, with purpose and mission every day.