Primary Purpose (John 10:10)

ABUNDANCE

John 10:10 says, "The thief comes not but to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I am come that they might have life, and that they might have (it) more abundantly".

PRIMARY PURPOSE

This very famous text speaks of the thief and the Good Shepherd. More specifically, the Greek text, in the English phrase, "comes not but to", speaks of primary purpose. What is strongly stated in the Greek, is that the only reason the thief shows up is for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. By contrast, what is implied, though not stated, is that the same emphasis exists concerning the actions of the Good Shepherd. What is without question, is that the Lord Jesus Christ, in His earthly walk; in His death; in His resurrection; and in His ministry at the right hand of the Father; His primary purpose, in everything He has done, and in everything He is doing, is to give us life, and all the abundance that accompanies that life.

ABUNDANT LIFE

In whatever our calling, or mission, equipped for His service, everything that we do and how we function, is to be marked by abundant life. Anything less than abundant life, is falling short of the primary purpose of the death; resurrection and sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. His primary purpose for coming was to give us abundant life, and His expectation is for us to walk in what He purchased with His own blood. Why would we, for one moment, want anything less for ourselves, than what His supreme sacrifice afforded us.

I am acquainted with an active church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, with the name, "Abundant Life". Not only is this an appropriate name for a church, but this is the primary purpose for every Believer and the reason Jesus came. His primary purpose was to bring us in to life, marked by abundance, and we too are to enlist others into that same experience of partaking and enjoying abundant life. Individually, and as a corporate body, abundant life is to be our daily experience.

You are God's Best and God's Best is Yours.