A Full Life

"I came that they may have life and have it to the full." John 10:10

Sometimes when I'm invited to an eat-all-you-can buffet with sushi, shrimp tempura, lamb, wagyu beef, all sorts of desserts, etc., I don't eat much during the day. Then I eat as much as I can of my favorite dishes until I can't move. Once my nephew ate so much that he had to go to the toilet and vomit. That is not what Jesus meant when he said He came that we might have life to the full. He does not put a premium on us getting everything we want on earth. We may think that if we had unlimited money and resources, we would be the happiest people on earth but that is the farthest from the truth! 

St. Augustine of Hippo wrote in his confessions, "Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it finds its rest in thee." He wrote this after a life lived in pursuit of all his heart could desire. Augustine realized he could only find real peace and joy in a life lived in intimacy with our Creator. 

In the third chapter of Ecclessiastes, we can find these verses: "I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart." We all long for what is eternal, infinite. There is no escaping what some call the God shaped hole or vacuum placed in our hearts by God so we would search for Him, and in our searching, find Him. 

In John 37-38, Jesus said, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'" The word "innermost being is the Greek 'koilos' which means hole or empty place. 

Lord, how wonderful that You desire only the best for us. Yes, I am thirsty. Fill the empty place inside me always with Your living water!