"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." — John 10:10
Jesus doesn't ease into this one. Two agendas, laid side by side, no commentary needed. One takes. One gives.
But before he gets to verse 10, Jesus sets the scene - the sheep know the shepherd's voice. They follow it. They run from the voice of a stranger because something in them recognizes it doesn't belong. The question underneath all of that is quietly unsettling: Do we know the difference?
Because the thief doesn't announce himself. He doesn't show up with a name tag. He shows up with an offer, and his offers always sound reasonable. More hustle. More striving. More fear. More comparison. More noise. And slowly, without us noticing, something is being taken. Joy. Rest. Enough-ness.
Then Jesus says: I came that they may have life - and have it abundantly.
That word abundantly isn't modest. It's not "sufficient" or "adequate." It's overflowing. It's more than you imagined asking for. And it comes from the same shepherd who, just a few weeks after saying this, stood in a locked room full of frightened people and said, "Peace be with you" - and meant it as both a gift and an invitation to step back into life.
That's the thread. The abundant life and the peace that sends you - they come from the same voice. The voice you were made to follow.
So this week, pay attention to what the voices in your life are producing. Fear, exhaustion, and scarcity are not the fingerprints of the shepherd. But peace - the kind that steadies you and sends you - that's how you know whose voice you're hearing.
Grace and peace to you, Pastor Erin
