Harvest Daily - October 24, 2005

Monday, October 24, 2005

Life to the Fullest

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

—John 10:10

A missionary went to Africa to bring the gospel to a tribe of cannibals. The men in this tribe were so vicious, they would carve their teeth into points in preparation for their attacks. The missionary thought, “If I could reach the chief of this tribe, if he would put his faith in Christ, then the others would soon follow.”

The problem was this missionary tended to emphasize the negatives of Scripture. So instead of telling the chief about the wonderful liberty and freedom that can be found in Christ, this missionary kept hammering on the importance of keeping certain rules.

After listening to the missionary for awhile, the chief said, “So you are telling me that I can’t take my neighbor’s wife.”

“That’s right,” the missionary said.

“Or his oxen or his ivory.”

“Right again,” the missionary said.

“And I must not dance the war dance and then go out and ambush my enemies on the trail and kill them.”

“Right again” the missionary said.

“But I cannot do any of these things,” the chief said. “I am too old. It seems to me that being old and being a Christian are being the same thing.”

That is how a lot of people view the Christian life. They see Christians living by certain standards, and it bothers them that we have the audacity, in their minds, to try to push our supposedly outmoded views on them.

If only they could see that God’s commandments were given not to make our lives miserable, but to make our lives full. His commandments are barriers He has erected around our lives to protect us so that we might live our lives to the fullest.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.