Words of Life: An Enduring LegacyНамуна

Legacy of life: abundant life.

The key to a great catchphrase or tag line is capturing the essence of an idea or product in a single, punchy sentence. Jesus does exactly that in John 10:10, summing up his mission and ministry. I love how the Hawai‘i Pidgin translation puts it: ‘Da steala guy, he ony come fo steal, kill, an bus up da place. But I wen come so da peopo can come alive inside, an live to da max.’ Jesus came so people could truly come alive and live to the max.

‘Life’ is the category that John uses in his Gospel to describe the reality of what Jesus’s incarnation, death, and resurrection mean for the world. John uses it 36 times, compared to just 16 occurrences across Matthew, Mark, and Luke combined. Similarly, the synoptics speak of the ‘Kingdom of God’ 121 times, whereas John uses the word ‘kingdom’ only five times. Both concepts express the same reality but perhaps with different emphases: kingdoms must be built, defended, and laboured for, while life is meant to be lived, embraced, and experienced.

The legacy in which we’re invited to participate is not merely one of building programmes or properties, but one of living: growing, nurturing, and being. Jesus did not come to simply construct a better world, but so that people can experience abundant living in a non-material sense: a life overflowing with his joy and his peace and his presence. We’re called to come alive in Christ, and experience real living, before then participating in God’s ongoing, life-giving work in the world. Buildings and programmes will fade eventually, but abundant life is eternal.

He came to give us life in all its fullness,
He came to make the blind to see,
He came to banish death and doubt and darkness,
He came to set his people free.
He liberating love imparted,
He taught men once again to smile;
He came to bind broken-hearted,
And God and man to reconcile.

John Gowans (Salvation Army Songbook 139)