Secrets of the Abundant Life - Paradise Awaits

John 10: 9 - 10 (NIV): I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

I want to write a series of columns on the secrets of living the abundant life. Secret number one is to realize that God wants us to live a full, joyful, abundant life and has done his part to offer it to us. Now, we must believe it and start living it.
As we study the scriptures we realize we were created to live in paradise. Paradise was lost because that's the price we pay for not being God's pets or puppets. God wants us to love him of our own free will and choice – otherwise our love for him would not be authentic and he would receive no pleasure from it. In fact, we are created for God's pleasure and that comes from our freely loving him. But even though we have fallen from paradise, we can still live an abundant life. The NIV says “to the full” in today's passage.
This doesn't mean we are offered a life devoid of conflict, trials or pain, it means we live life to its fullest potential. A full life will include conflict, trials and pain, but it will still be abundant. It will be a life worth living. We can live in peace with God and with each other. We can have a purpose and know that we are a blessing to others and that our existence has meaning. Do you realize we are the only creatures on earth who appreciate art and beauty? We are the only creatures who are self-aware and who can look beyond our own existence. And we can know that we have paradise to look forward to and that we will spend the vast, vast majority of our existence there.
The second secret of the abundant life is to realize that life on this earth is only temporary. Our true home is with God in heaven forever and ever. But even though our lives on this earth are only temporary, God wants us to live here to the full as well. We have the perspective that because our lives are temporary, so are our trials and pain. We begin to see the big picture. The second secret of living the abundant life is realizing where our permanent home is and that this life isn't it.