JOHN 10:9-11 – I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.”
I am going to start today’s nugget with a statement that you might kick against, quickly deny, or just flat out dismiss as error. Here it is . . . a Christian should never be discontent or bored. I recently had a conversation with a person who claims to be a Christian who was clearly discontent in his life and lamented he was bored. He asked me, “Don’t you fight those two things in your life?” My reply was, “Honestly, I don’t get bored and here is why, I have a devil to fight, a sinful world to refuse, a fallen flesh tempting me to drift from Jesus, and an incredible God to know.” My friend immediately said, “No way. Everyone gets bored” and I shot back quickly, “I really don’t.” He sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity and said, “I never thought about boredom like that before.”
Christian, are you like my friend – bored in life? Do you suffer dissatisfaction or discontent that causes you to miss out on the abundant life Jesus died and rose to give? Before we answer this one, “What is abundant life?” The late Dr. James Boice wrote, “Our English word ‘abundance’ comes from the two Latin words ab and undare which mean ‘to rise in waves’ or ‘to overflow.’ The first translation gives a picture of the unceasing rise of the waves upon a seashore. The waves rise again and again. One wave surges forward and exhausts its force on the sand, but another follows and another and another. Thus, it will continue as time lasts. The other picture is of a flood. This makes us think of a river fed by heavy rains, rising irresistibly until it overflows its banks. The abundant life is, therefore, one in which we are content in the knowledge that God’s grace is more than sufficient for our needs, that nothing can suppress it, and that God’s favor toward us is unending. The Greek word for ‘abundance’ perissos, has a mathematical meaning and generally denotes a surplus. In this sense it is used of the twelve baskets of food that remained after Christ’s feeding of the five thousand as related in Matthew’s Gospel (14:20).
We may summarize Dr. Boice’s definition by saying, “The abundant life Jesus gives His people is an overflow of His grace to them that never runs dry and brings inner satisfaction, rest, and contentment to their souls, hearts, and minds.” This alone should affirm the truth that Christians should never experience boredom or discontentment, but there is something else.
The Christian life cannot be boring because of the nature of the Christian life. First, our warfare prevents boredom. We have a crafty devil to fight, a pleasure-seeking world to reject, and a sinful flesh to deny. Secondly the Christian life cannot be one of boredom because we have a glorious God to know, to pursue, to love, and to serve. That means we don’t have time to be bored. We are at war and called to experience the one True God who always satisfies the person who seeks Him with a whole heart.
PRAYER: “Father, forgive me when I neglect the soul-satisfying experiences of Your grace.”
QUOTE: “There is nothing boring or routine in the person walking with Jesus Christ.”