“I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” –Luke 23:43
He explained it to them: “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers. But the true sheep did not listen to them. Yes, I am the gate. Those who come in through me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures. The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” (John 10:7–10 NLT)
Yesterday’s passage in Matthew 7 said the entrance to God’s Kingdom was only through a narrow gate. Today’s passage gives that gate a name: Jesus. In John 10, Jesus clearly lays out that salvation is only through Him, that all other pathways lead to death. Additionally, Jesus does not just want to save our souls, He also desires to give us “a rich and satisfying life.”
Dallas Willard writes that Jesus “matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human beings, living their ordinary lives and coping daily with their surroundings. He promises wholeness for their lives. In sharing our weaknesses, he gives us strength and imparts through his companionship a life that has the quality of eternity.” Salvation is in age to come, to be sure, and it is also in the here and now. It is through Christ—His example, His death and resurrection, and His indwelling within our hearts—that our lives today are able to be “rich and satisfying.” Spend a few moments in praise and prayer: praise Jesus for leading you to salvation, and pray that God would show you where you are lacking in a rich and satisfying life.