John 10:9
I am the gate. If anyone comes in by me, they will be safe, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Jesus is the gate leading to God.
He has done everything for us in order to give us eternal life, which in Jewish writing is “the life of God’s coming age.” Jesus said eternal life was to know YHWH, the one true God, and the One He sent, Jesus Christ. Jesus the Messiah. Jesus the Anointed One of God.
I’ve been thinking a lot lately of this life in terms of preparation for the life to come. What if this is like 50, 60, 70 years of training for the real thing? The real thing will, in fact, be ruled by YHWH in every aspect. So start now by getting on board with who He is and what He is like.
The only way to have this kind of life is to go thru the gate that is Jesus of Nazareth. Following Jesus with your life is to experience God. And that is to have life that is overflowing out of you.
God loves you simply because you are from Him, part of Him, made in His image. There are traces, even amongst our sin, of God in us. And He loves that. He loves you for that, not because you’re perfect. God loves you for His own sake, not for your sake. (So get over yourself!) A parent loves a baby child not for their ability to do many things for them, for they cannot. They love the child because he or she is a part of them, because of their deep connection. But sadly it is true, that that child can stray far from their connection, and put “distance” between them. The loving parent, tho heart-broken, stands always with open arms, ready to receive them, like the father with his wayward son Jesus told us about.
God desires us to throw ourselves down at His mercy in complete surrender. Surrender to His love which should never be confused with human love. A good parent desires surrender of their child’s will to their own because they know it is for the good of the child, since the parent wishes only good will toward him or her.
“Do as I say if you want to live life to its fullest” might be a better version of what many of us have perceived as “Keep every one of these rules or else I will be constantly angry and displeased with you!”
There’s only one Gate that leads to life overflowing, but many are the gates that lead to life being stolen.
Proverbs 17:24
The person with understanding is always looking for wisdom, but the mind of a fool wanders everywhere.
Wisdom seeks to do a few things well, to master a few good habits.
To be an “Essentialist.”
Focusing on the basic things that really matter is wise. If you form just two or three new and good habits a year, you’re doing really really well.
We don’t need to know very much, but to actually act on what we know.