abundant life…life to the full…zoe…this is what jesus promised to those who would choose to follow him. the cost: everything. real life, abundant life is purely defined as life in the kingdom. entrance into the kingdom–citizenship–requires total abandonment. repudiation of everything safe and comfortable.
now, i am not advocating what some would call the “poverty gospel.” jesus didn’t teach that we have to be broke and miserable. jesus taught that it really doesn’t matter one way or the other. what i am suggesting is that the life jesus promised can only be enjoyed by those who have chosen the future over the present…the eternal over the temporal…things unseen rather than things seen.
i watched a sermon by mark driscoll the other day where he was excoriating joel osteen (not too tough to do). driscoll showed a video clip of a pretty typical osteen sermon (you know, we are meant to walk in victory and health and prosperity without suffering). driscoll then refuted osteen’s claims on the basis of jesus’ life (jesus suffered pain and stress and poverty while his friends fled). dricoll’s conclusion: if jesus went through all that, so will we. osteen apologists would argue that we live in victory because of the atonement (jesus suffered so we don’t have to). in my judgment, they’re both wrong.
i can have an amazing life here on earth, jesus doesn’t mind (in fact, he will probably help me) but the cost is zoe…abundant life. on the other hand, i can enjoy the “life to the full” that jesus promised, but it must be the passion of my life to the exclusion of everything else. bottom line (and, i promise, i’ll lighten up considerably in my next post), i am aware of my sinfulness. i am embarrassingly vulnerable to the allure of what the world can provide. not sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll…but praise, comfort, and success. when i get glory, there’s a little less for jesus. i must have the courage and discipline to deny my flesh and deflect the glory. i am completely convinced that god will make it worth my while.
i hereby decline any offer of a best life now. i have chosen to have my best life later.
your best life later 