“…that they may have life, and have it to the full”

What does it mean to live life to the fullest?

I suppose you could ask 100 people that question and receive the same number of unique responses.

For some it is to travel, whenever and to wherever they please.
For others it is freedom from responsibility – doing what they want, when they want to.
Still others believe it is the constant pursuit of “fun” in one’s life.
And yet for Christians it is something else entirely.

Each year, Easter brings with it a sense of renewal, a fresh start. It is my equivalent of Chinese New Year. Perhaps it is the feeling of spring in the air after a long, cold winter (especially this year). Perhaps it is the new Easter outfit I always save for that special day (I blame that one on my mother). Or perhaps it is the familiar message you hear in new and different ways each Sunday during the Lenten season as Christians, the world over, prepare their hearts for Easter.

But, the fresh start that Easter brings also carries with it a challenge -- a call to action to embrace the life offered by Christ’s dying and rising again. Throughout Holy Week, we are called to walk with Christ in the days and moments that lead up to His death. We celebrate as He triumphantly entered Jerusalem, welcomed as King. We weep as He is betrayed and cast out by society. We break as His body is beaten and broken. And we breathe a gasping, desperate breath as He is nailed to the cross and encounters death. We are called to go with Him to the cross and suffer with him so that we may also share in the glory of his rising from the dead.

For years, I would sit in Good Friday services and sob at the thought of the Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, being tortured and killed. I would sing out and pray as tears would roll down my cheeks. But this year, as I walked with Him on His journey to the cross, I felt my heart pulling me out of that sorrow to set my sights on Sunday morning. Because, on Easter we celebrate victory – His victory over our sin and the death that it brings.

Jesus says, in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” On Easter we celebrate new life and the opportunity to live it to the full, free from the chains of sin that threaten to drag us down.

As the Bible states in Romans 8:16, “The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs – heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”*

So this year, as we take our first steps into the fresh start offered by the Easter celebration, I urge you to embrace the full life offered by a relationship with Jesus Christ. We were created to walk closely with Him, to follow in His footsteps and share in His suffering, so that we may also share in His glory. Now that, is living life to the full!

*In response to the challenge made by my brother and sister-in-law’s church, Sojourn, in Louisville, Kentucky, I’ve started memorizing all of Romans 8. I’m more than halfway through. I challenge you to join me in this mission. Let God’s word be the words that fill your mind throughout the day and experience the freedom that comes with focusing on Him, rather than the nagging frustrations and worries that have a tendency to otherwise creep in.