Living Life to the Full

by Lucy Britten

A truth that is often read in the Bible but seems to pass some people by is that God has promised us life, and life to the max,

"I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of"
(John 10:10, Message version)

But living life to the full means being obedient to God, and that often means living on the edge, taking risks and stepping out into the unknown. Now, to me that sounds like I should be parachuting out of planes, snowboarding down Mount St. Helen's, and bungee jumping off the Empire State building! I know I'm not brave enough to do all those things, so am I missing out on life to the max? Well, the answer to that question is probably yes, but not because I've never been snowboarding!! Living your life for God is all about receiving all that He has planned for you, but that does take us giving all we have back to God.

Let me tell you a story. There was once a man who died and went to heaven, he was up there being shown around when he came across a huge dirty looking warehouse. Well, his curiosity got the better of him and he went inside to have a look. There he came across box upon box with people's names on them, so ran down the many rows looking on each shelf trying to find his own . Tucked away on one shelf was his box, finally he'd found it! Upon opening it he found hundred's of blessing from God and asked his guide "why didn't I receive all of these?" The answer he got was "you didn't ask".

Now, that was just a story but it made me think. All the blessings we're missing out on every time we're being selfish with my time or money, every time we're lazy and can't be bothered to help someone out, every time we're angry with people or circumstances. And doesn't it seem amazing that God Himself wants us to have these blessings in the first place so we can live life to the max...wow, that's something worth shouting about!! Realising this made me want to literally throw off EVERYTHING holding me back from God's best.

Living life to the max is not necessarily having a career like Britney, a car like David Beckham, or a body like Elle Macpherson, I believe it's being free to stand out from the crowd, to stand up for what you believe in. But we have to remember there is a price for us to pay. The more we give up for God, things such as impatience, a 'speak before you think' mentality, jealousy, greed, anger and so much more, the more freedom we will feel to be able to just grab life and run with it.

Try it today. It's not an easy road to take, but the most rewarding roads are often the hardest ones to travel. Just remember it's never too late to start throwing off things holding you back from God's best and running to the blessings. God doesn't want you to miss out, He's on your side and He's got a plan for your life better than we could ever imagine or dream up on our own. When you're on that road the one thing you can always boast about is that the freedom you'll be feeling and life you'll be experiencing will be because of the grace and love of Jesus Christ. Go for it, go get your life to the max!!!