AN ABUNDANT LIFE IN CHRIST

“Are you really alive, or are you already dead?”  The question hung in the room as the German university students at the Christian fellowship group pondered how to answer.

“I think many young people in Germany are walking around dead,” one girl ventured.  “They have no life.  Their bodies may be alive, but their souls are dead.”

No Life

Others began to share more of the problems among German youth: depression, suicide, broken families, inability to communicate, and the lack of real relationships. “We have hundreds of facebook friends,” one guy noted, “but hardly any real friends.  We don’t know how to connect with people — we don’t have real life.”

“My cousin used to work in Washington, D.C.” I told the group when there was a lull in the discussion.  “She rode the train into the city every day.  Her fellow commuters were usually engrossed in their morning paper or to-go coffee or the music on their iPods.  Hardly anyone smiled or laughed or greeted anyone else.  They all looked so dead.”  The German students nodded in understanding.

Followers of Jesus

“So my cousin started playing a game during the morning commutes,” I continued.  “She would look at the faces of everyone who got on and off the train and try to guess if any of them were followers of Jesus.”

“Then she started to think: If people look at ME, can they tell that I’m a Christian?  Can they see Jesus in me?”  The room was completely quiet now, and several of the students leaned in closer, listening intently.

“I often think about that story and ask myself the same questions.  When people look at me, what do they see?  Do they see that Jesus is alive and working in me?”  As we concluded the group discussion, I had the opportunity to share one-on-one with some of the students about how to begin processing the issues of their hearts in order to have abundant life in Christ.

How about you?  Are you walking around dead because of unresolved grief, pain, or loss from your past?  Has your soul shriveled up inside as a result of broken or abusive relationships?

Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10, NAS).  Allow Him to sweep out all the cobwebs in the dark corners of your heart, and shine the light of His truth in every room.  You can have an abundant life, a life of overflowing joy and peace!

Going vertical!

MJ