Really Living

John 10:10 – “…I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

When told to make a wish before blowing out a candle at a birthday party, a little girl said, “I wish you may live until you die.” Everybody laughed, for on the surface this seemed to be a rather ridiculous statement. But when we think it through, we realize that it is not too bad an idea after all; for many spend their time on earth without really living.

Such people were described by Paul when he wrote, “But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth” (1 Tim. 5:6). The only person who truly lives is the one who knows Christ, and Paul’s prayer for believers in Ephesians 1:15-23 expresses in substance the same desire as the youngster’s wish. He prayed that every Christian might know three things in his daily experience: “the hope of his calling,” “the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,” and “the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe.”

First, we have the hope of Heaven. Second, we are God’s inheritance through whom He will eternally display the riches of His glory. Third, the Father has transformed us with the same mighty power He manifested when He raised Christ from the dead.

The person who goes on without these assurances of God’s love, and without knowing His power is not really living. The believer who has progressed by grace into the deeper blessings of intimate fellowship with the Lord experiences the “abundant life” our Savior promised. Dear Christian, are you “really living’?