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Thursday, October 12, 2006

Inspirational Bible Verses About Life

It has to be said. There are some verses in the bible that are not meant to be taken literally. When Jesus declares, "I am the door," in John ch.10 v.7, He is not declaring that He is a large flat piece of wood. His language is figurative. It is obvious that this is so, and there are clear spiritual principles that can be learned from His words - but that is another story for another time.

In essence, this is true of all of the times where the Bible uses narrative forms that involve imagery. We interpret the images in the light of what the Bible has revealed elsewhere, rather than use a fanciful eisegesis of a metaphor to reinterpret what is crystal clear from the outset.

So, when Jesus continues in verse 10 to say " The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly," it is not merely a divine command to purchase a burglar alarm. It has a clear meaning within the content of the passage.

We could spend time identifying the characteristics of these 'thieves' and what they are after when applied to our culture and our time - but I want to quickly focus on Jesus' statement about Himself.

He has come to give us life - not an idle boast from a self-important glory-seeker, but a concise statement from the One who is uniquely qualified to claim this as truth. Not mere 'existence', not just a lengthening of the number of days we spend on earth, but a qualitative shift in the centre of our source for fulfillment.

A full, abundant life is one where our spiritual needs are met in such a way that we are free to be precisely who we were destined to become. A life where we may not find that all our problems disappear, but we become aware of the One who will support us and lead us victoriously through all circumstances that would threaten our relationship with Him and with those He has placed us with.

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