What is Life to the Full?
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
Jesus promises all believers life to the full, but what exactly is life to the full? Those who don’t know Christ certainly cannot experience life to the full, because it is divine and only comes from Christ. From the verse above, we can assume life to the full never comes from the world because Satan and his demons exist in this world to steal, kill, and destroy.
So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:27). Since we are created by God and he molds us to the image of his Son, then we must be created to live with the Father and the Son just as Adam and Eve did before the fall. Life to the full means we are created to have a close relationship with Christ because that is what we will experience in our eternal life.
So the Lord God drove the man out of the Garden of Eden. (Genesis 3:23) Adam and Eve sinned and could no longer live with God in the Garden of Eden. Now all humanity is destined to live in the fallen world. However through Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, our life will be full even though our flesh lives in the fallen world.
We seek lasting love, peace, and joy, and we know it doesn’t come from the world but it comes from Christ through the Holy Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23) We have the fruit of the Spirit living in us feeding our souls. How do we fill our soul with the fruit of the Spirit so we have love, peace, and joy all the time?
If you love me, keep my commands. (John 14:15) If we obey the Lord’s commands with our conscience guided by the Spirit, giving the Lord priority in our life, then our faith will increase and the fruit of the Spirit will fill our soul. The closer we are to the Lord, the more love, peace, and joy we experience, because God’s love casts out fear and we cannot live life to the full if we entertain toxic thoughts such as fear, anger, or unforgiveness.
Life to the full comes from God’s love in our hearts, from a strong faith, and from serving the Lord. Satan is always trying to steal our relationship with the Lord and our life to the full, but we fight Satan and his evil by calling on the power of our Lord, and we are assured victory if we keep fighting sin.
Today, live life to the full with love, peace, and joy and call on the Lord whenever Satan attacks. Remember — you live with victory in Christ! Reflect a victorious attitude to others with love and compassion.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for giving me your love, peace, and joy, through the Spirit, and let me remain in the Spirit, to see the world and respond to the world through the Spirit. In Jesus name, Amen