What does it take to live life fully alive in a world that tends to suck the life out of you?
Today I will share with you what I’ve learned about that very thing. Consider this verse of Scripture:
“The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” John 10:10 ESV
I totally believe this verse of Scripture – both parts of it. Jesus came that we might have life and have it abundantly! But what sucks the life out of us is the constant barrage of the enemy’s “steal, kill and destroy” tactics that we live with in this fallen world.
Here are the 3 things I believe it takes to overcome the life-sucking tactics of the enemy and access the abundant life Jesus came to give us:
Think of 3 concentric circles:
1.) Abiding in Christ in the inner circle,
2.) 5 to Thrive in the next circle,
3.) Mining Your Treasure in the 3rd, outermost circle.
Let me explain what I mean about each of these.
1.) Abiding in Christ -> fully alive with Jesus – John 15:4,5 – this is about BEING
Abide in me, and I in you. 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. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4,5 ESV
If we want to live an abundant life, we need to learn to abide in Christ. The first part of the Great Commandment is about loving God first and foremost with our whole being. In order to do that, we give our relationship with Him first place in all of life. Cultivating that relationship involves learning to quiet ourselves, living with an attitude and habitual practice of gratitude, accessing the mind of Christ within us and more. Interactive Gratitude, Immanuel Journaling and Immanuel Prayer are 3 tools I have used in my life to help cultivate this life of Abiding in Him and He in me.(I will include a link to these at these at the end.)
2.) 5 to Thrive -> fully alive human beings – this is about human RELATIONSHIPS
“These things I have spoken to you that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you.” John 15:11,12 ESV
My husband and I are involved in a ministry called Life Model Works (https://lifemodelworks.org) which is all about relationships, with God and people. Research and proven practice has determined that there are 5 things human beings need to thrive. They are:
1.) A place to belong – attachment, “hesed” – sticky love – steadfast love – God & people
2.) To both give and receive life – freedom from fear, ability to quiet and be relational
3.) The capacity to recover from malfunctions – emotionally healthy and resilient, staying relational
4.) Maturation – understanding what maturity looks like at each stage of life – infant, child, adult, parent and elder. Older doesn’t always mean more mature! We thrive when we are truly mature at each stage of life.
5.) To stay true to your identity – know who you are because of whose you are, know what your heart characteristics are and be able to live from the heart Jesus gave you
*Your group identity helps form your personal identity, ‘your people’ – what is it like me and my people to do/be? We don’t thrive without healthy relationships with our people.
3.) Mine your treasure -> fully alive living your calling – this is about DOING good works.
But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV
As a coach I have seen amazing things happen for people when they take the time to discover their calling, dream of how it can be lived out in all the areas of their lives, and then go do it! God’s word says that he has determined the good works we are to walk in before we were ever created! The catch is that we have to discover that for ourselves. We have treasure in us that needs to be mined. You have to dig for it, find it, refine it and put it in the right setting and form to be used for the greatest good.
There’s so much more to say about all of these things!
All I’m giving you today is an hors d’oeuvres, but Jesus has the full meal for you – because He came that you might have life in abundance, right in the middle of a world that tends to suck the life out you!
“The glory of God is man fully alive.” – St. Irenaeus
If you’d like to access some tools for abiding in Christ, you’ll find it here: https://radiusministries.org/resources/
If you’d like to know more about my coaching, you can check out my website here: https://radiusministries.org
**I’m going to be offering a new coaching option that involves all 3 of the things I’m talking about here today. I don’t even have it published on my website yet, but if you’re interested in possibly doing this, just reply to this post or contact me via my website contact form. I’d love to help you access that abundant life Jesus came to give you.
Blessings,
Terri
