“I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”John 10:9–11
Phillips Brooks, who is best remembered as the author of the Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” told of a man who came to him and said, “I have not time or room in my life for Christianity. If it were not so full! You don’t know how hard I work from morning till night. When have I time, where have I room for Christianity in such a life as mine?”
Recounting that story Brooks wrote, “It is as if the engine had said it had no room for the steam. It is as if the tree said it had no room for the sap. It is as if the ocean said it had no room for the tide. It is as if the man had said he had no room for his soul. It is as if the life had said it had no time to live, when it is life. It is not something added to life; it is life. A man is not living without it.”
It is so easy for us to become caught up in the things of life that we find our relationship with God relegated to an afterthought. Many people substitute a busy life for an abundant life. They have no time for personal, intimate fellowship with God as they rush from task to objective to project. It makes no difference what these tasks that keep us from spending time with God are—whether they are secular or religious—if we allow them to fill our days so there is no time left to cultivate our relationship with God. Only through Jesus can we have eternal life; and only through cultivating our relationship with Jesus can we enjoy abundant life. (Daily in the Word)
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346
