Jesus articulated
the purpose of His ministry when He said, "I came that they may have life,
and have it abundantly." (John 10:10) Another version (NEB) translates it
as "life… in all its fullness."
There are two
aspects to this abundant life. The first is in the sense of "eternal
life." Sin causes death. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."
There is no escaping death, but Christ came to offer us, as a gift, abundant,
eternal life. We simply need to reach out to God and accept the gift by
believing in Christ.
The second aspect
of this abundant life, or life in all its fullness, is what Dr. Howard
Clinebell in Anchoring Your Well Being calls "spiritually
empowered 'well being,' 'wholeness,' or 'wellness'… The fundamental purpose of
the Christian life is to enable people to develop lifestyles of spiritually
empowered wholeness throughout their life journeys and to help create a society
in which life in all its fullness is possible for all members of the human
family."
First we receive
through Christ the gift of eternal, abundant life, then, in Christ we give the
gift of spiritually empowered wellness to ourselves and others as we proclaim
the Good News.
-- Rev. David
T. Wilkinson
#3782
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