He came that they may have life (John 10:10)
The purpose of the entire gospel of John is that the readers “may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God and by believing you may have life” (20:31). John 10:10 lays emphasis that those who believe in Jesus can find safety and protection, plenty and satisfaction in their souls. Christ is the only door we have to soul satisfying pastures.
Satan is categorised in this text as thief, a killer and a destroyer. Satan does not produce anything of his own, he is not creative, but he steals your joy, energy, your valuable time so that you stop listening to God and only seek to hear what pleases him. Satan is a con man who devises tricks every day to make you believe him; he steals your mind and shows you what he does not own but convinces your heart to believe in what is temporal. Remember he told Jesus and he will give him the whole world if he bowed and worshipped him. Many people worldwide have continued to bow before Satan in worship because he has stolen their ability to think and see Jesus for who he is.
The word used for killing here means slaughter or sacrifice. Satan kills us from inside by speaking lies that tear us down. His lies instill fear into our live and steadily wear us down emotionally and mentally. His lie stops us from living the life that God wants us to live. He kills our character and we become a nuisance in public space. Munroe said “the most important quality a true leader should and must possess is the moral force of a noble and stable character.” Yet many as he states today have put emphasis on great vision, academic and intellectual superiority, dynamic oratory and other communications skills and have power to persuade and ability to control. All these are very good in our society today but once the devil steals away character, then we remain empty vessels with very good abilities yet feared by many. With the rise of universities and other institutions of learning, our offices, institutions, churches and families are full of intellectuals whose character the devil has robbed leaving us with a rotten and lacking society.
Once he steals, he kills eventually he destroys. The word used here means perish or lose. Our society is steadily perishing. Both the young and the old have lost focus. We are already destroyed so we have no fear of destroying others. When given jobs the first thing is to develop ourselves while destroying, robbing and taking away everything. When we cease to work, the office disappears with us. The destructive spirit of dealing with others, destroying lives, and manipulating people to our advantage is ungodly yet preferred by many today.
The Good news today is that even if you have stretched too far to engage with the devil to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus avails abundant life to all of us. You can take time to rethink your life and state and allow him to come in today and add value to your life. He will give you a new vision, character and an instructed tongue to declare his oracles to the world. In Christ you will begin to rebuild, restore and re- construct lives. Come and have life of abundance. This life can only be achieved in Christ Jesus. Even in your room today, feel free to go down on your knees and ask that he occupies the vacancy of your heart and you can be saved.
The Very Rev. Canon Dr. Rebecca Nyegenye
AG. PROVOST