Receive Life To The Full

RECEIVE LIFE TO THE FULL

a prayer to open

Here I am, Lord. Quiet my mind. Open my heart.

Give me ears to hear your invitation and the faith to respond.

[Jesus said,] “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep. A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock. The hired hand runs away because he’s working only for the money and doesn’t really care about the sheep.

“I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me, just as my Father knows me and I know the Father. So I sacrifice my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, too, that are not in this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They will listen to my voice, and there will be one flock with one shepherd.

“The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. No one can take my life from me. I sacrifice it voluntarily. For I have the authority to lay it down when I want to and also to take it up again. For this is what my Father has commanded.”

“I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (verse 10, NIV). Something deep within us says yes when we hear this. Yes, we want this life to the full. Yes, we long for more than the mundane and routine. We want to love well, get messy, and be free. What stops us? What holds us back?

When we fill our lives with busyness and refuse to quiet ourselves in God’s presence, we close our ears to his voice, we forget we are his, and we lose our way. But Jesus says that the only way to have life to the full is to remain close to him, so close that we can hear and know his voice.

• Reflect on the times you have felt most alive. How would you describe those times to a friend? How would you describe your life now? Is there a gap between “life to the full” and what you’re currently experiencing? How would you describe that gap?
• Read today’s passage again slowly. What invitation related to experiencing life to the full do you sense Jesus extending to you?
• Do you know someone who seems to think their life is empty or without meaning? Seek God’s guidance as to how you might invite that person to experience life to the full in Christ.

Loving God, thank you for the invitation to experience life to the full. I say yes. Help me receive this life you offer. Show me how to stay close, so close that I can hear your voice. Give me the courage to slow my mind and quiet myself in your presence. When I stray, call me back to you and help me remember I am yours. Remind me that life to the full has love at the center. May my life reflect your love. Amen.