Ten:10 Ministries...

One of my favorite verses is John 10:10 (thanks Josh). I like it so much that when I was in ministry, we named our youth programs after it. TEN:10 Ministries. Whenever anyone asked what that meant, I usually only quoted the second part of that verse (I have come to give you life and life to the full).

Yesterday I was in a small group leader training class at church. The teacher asked us to turn to John 10:12-13. His point was simply that we ought to have a vested interest in the lives of the people in our small groups so that we don't treat them as a hired hand would. I started thinking of this verse in the context of all that Jesus was saying.

Thieves steal, kill and destroy us. Jesus is life. He gives us this life by laying down his own life for his sheep, for those that recognize his voice and follow him. What a comforting thought.

He says that he knows his own sheep, yet willingly lays down his life. He knows the life I live apart from him, when I am stolen from, killed and utterly destroyed. So He lays down his life so that I can have, as he calls it, greener pastures. So that I can experience a life free of vandelism and death.

I often forget that the ultimate purpose in a relationship with Jesus isn't heaven. It isn't even salvation. It's Jesus. That when we accept the gift he's given us, what we recieve is much more than a ticket to eternal life. It is The Eternal Life himself. We get God. How amazing is that?