Living life to the fullest

Stop for a minute and think about your life. Has it had both ups and downs? Have there been many moments where you've been so excited/happy that you wanted to shout for you, and have there also been those moments where you have wanted to break down and possibly cry? A life of ups and downs is a normal life, and it is also what life is like with Christ. Believe it or not, life with a relationship with Christ can actually be harder than life without Him, but life without Him really isn't "life" at all. This morning I heard a really powerful sermon in a church that was held in a movie theater! One of the passages the pastor talked about was 1 John 5: 4-5, 11-12. An important part of this excerpt are the words, "whoever has the Son has life." The pastor told everyone that we are doomed to lose in life if we don't have God, and all the work we have done is for nothing. We have no hope for victory, and we are doomed for eternal lostness. God took all of human sin and punished Jesus on the cross in our place. I just think that's amazing. I've realized I use the words "amazing" and "awesome" a lot, but I can't think of a better word to describe it at the moment. Romans 6:23 says "for the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord." Because of Jesus' sacrifice on the cross, we can live and be forgiven for our sins, and more importantly, if we follow Christ, we will not be doomed to hell but will be able to spend eternal life in heaven! I can't even begin to think of how amazing (yes I used that word again) heaven is going to be, and I'm just so excited to be able to live eternally with my Savior! It scares me to think that any day I could be driving along the road and get in an accident or die in my sleep, etc., but it is reassuring to know that when I die, I will only die on earth and I will live a better life in heaven! I believe that we each have a special purpose here on earth, and God keeps us here for as long as He thinks we should have to fulfill that purpose. For some people, that purpose may be to simply bring joy to a lot of people in your life through your relationships, including relationships at school, with your family and in your career. Others have different purposes. All of them center around Jesus though. God desires for us all to be Christlike in our lives and in our actions. Our purpose is to live for Christ and to glorify God through our lives because we have so much for which we should be thankful. He died for us, so we should want to live for Him.

 "Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love." (John 15:4-5,7,10)


Without Christ in our lives, we cannot bear fruit. We may think we are successful, but we in fact are eternally doomed. If we pursue a relationship with God, our prayers will be answered, in one way or another. Life won't always be easy, that's for sure, but we will always have God's love and He will be with us every step of the way, allowing us to bear fruit and to see the results of it in our lives. In 1 Peter 5 it says the devil roars around like a lion, and our job is to try to stay alert and watch out for our enemy because he sucks us in and changes our life for the worse, while Christ can change our lives for the better if we let Him! Whoever has the Son has life, and life without Christ is not a life I want to live.

I will leave you with this verse: "I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you may have tribulation, but take heart, for I have overcome the world." John 16:33