The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (ESV)

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)

The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. (NLT)

Dive Deeper:

You have all the money in the world but can’t buy what you want most. How? William Randolph Hearst found out. He was the media mogul who amassed extraordinary wealth, and like many in his tax bracket, he began an art collection. He filled his castle with pieces from around the world, gaining a stockpile worth over fifteen million dollars. One day, he read about some paintings he “just had to have,” so he sent his art agent to track them down. The agent searched all over Europe. Months go by, and he hears nothing. Eventually, his agent reports back with news… the pieces have been found but are impossible to buy. Hearst argues to pay whatever price necessary, but his agent objects, “Sir, you can’t buy them because they’re already stored in your warehouse.” 

Hearst was chasing paintings he already had. Ridiculous. How out of touch can you be? But think about it, don’t we subtly do the same? Replace paintings with the surface-level pleasures we seek, and the principle is the same: We are never satisfied. We go looking for satisfaction in the same empty places over and over and over again. The thief tempts us with “good things” that only lead to death. We don’t realize that the “painting” our souls are looking for has been there all along and available to us.

The great paradox between the thief and Jesus is this: In the thief, we are promised things we selfishly want. We will have a good life by taking it for ourselves. In Jesus, we are promised abundant life, but that fullness of life comes when we give it away. Jesus said, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). To deny ourselves is to deny the trivial pleasures we’ve built our life on. For Hearst, he couldn’t deny the insatiable desire for more paintings. Therefore, he failed to recognize he already had what he was looking for. For us, it's the same. Until we purge ourselves of the things that ultimately steal, kill and destroy us, we will only agree theologically that Jesus gives abundant life. We won’t taste and see it for ourselves.

The enemy will use any trivial distraction as a mirage of an abundant life. We must purge ourselves of trivial things that are filled with empty promises in order to follow after the One who gives abundant life. The paintings of sin we collect to fill the holes in our hearts can be filled more fully by following Jesus if we allow it. In Him, we are offered hope, joy, and peace. None of which can be found fully anywhere else.

Written by Ben Hesch