At 15 years old I stood in a gym at cheerleading tryouts wanting to hear my name called so badly it physically hurt. I didn’t know it then, but I would spend the next twenty years looking for that same feeling in every room I walked into.
The enemy, the devil, the thief— knows that ache. He will whisper that you are not good enough, that you never were — and he will let you chase belonging your whole life, room after room, never quite arriving.
That is not an accident. That is his design.
Two Forces. Two Missions.
In John 10:10 Jesus draws the sharpest possible contrast between two forces with two very different missions. One comes to steal, destroy, and take everything. One comes to give more than you ever dreamed or thought possible.
Not I came to help. Not I came to fix things. I came so you could have life — real life, eternal life — an abundant life that is more and better than you ever dreamed.
What Abundant Really Means
That word abundant means excessive.
Overflowing. Beyond what you expected. It is a life marked by purpose, joy, depth, and meaning.
A life with an eternal quality to it that no room, no list, no moment of being chosen could ever give you.
And it begins and ends with Jesus Christ.
Which Voice Are You Listening To?
So here is the question this verse leaves us with — the one I had to answer for myself and maybe you do too:
Which voice are you listening to? The thief who keeps pointing you toward the next shallow opportunity. Or the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, who called your name before you ever had anything to prove?
He already knew it. He already meant it.
“A thief is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.” John 10:10