Open the Bible UK Daily

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life... ”John 10:10Picture your life as a house. You are sitting in your living room, and there is a knock on the door. You pull back the curtain to see who is outside.Jesus says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).If you fear that Jesus may be a thief and that your life will be less if you let Him in, you will bolt the door. “If I let Him in, He will take away my freedom to do what I want. He will kill off what I enjoy.”But if you were to see that Jesus came to give you life, you would pull back the bolt and open the door. So, hear these words of Jesus: “I came that they may have life” (Jn. 10:10).Now someone may say, “Well, I have life already. I have good friends. I am content. I am happy, and I don’t need Jesus.”But here’s the thing: God gives us life, but we don’t hold it in our possession. Life can be taken from us in any number of ways—cancer, an accident, or an act of violence.But for Jesus, it is different. John says, “In him was life, and the life was the light of men” (Jn. 1:4). Life is in Jesus. He holds it as His own possession.Jesus knocks on the door of your life. He is not a thief. He has come so that you may have life, and when you believe that, you will open the door.Have you opened the door of your life to Jesus? When you see what He can give, you will freely and gladly open the door and welcome Him in.

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”John 10:10Notice that alongside Jesus, who has come into the world to bring life, there is also a thief who comes to steal. The thief takes away what was yours and leaves you with less than you had.The thief has also come to kill and destroy. Once you had faith and hope and joy, but your faith is now a flickering candle. Your hope has been crushed. Water has been poured on the flame of your joy. You find yourself saying, “Something within me has died.”We live at a time when many people are moving away from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. There’s always a story behind this, and if you have enough trust to ask, you may open the door to a fruitful conversation. “Who stole what you had?” This is a really important question, and by asking it, you may help a person who is losing faith.How are we to deal with thieves? Jesus said, “All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them” (Jn. 10:8). If you listen to thieves, they will take away everything of value.If you’ve been robbed of faith, hope, love, or joy, you will likely find that you’ve been listening to the voice of a thief. Your recovery will begin when you listen to a different voice—the voice of Jesus—and the first thing He says is: “Learn to recognise those who steal, kill, and destroy.”Have you been listening to the voice of a thief? Do you feel that something within you has died?

“This is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day.”John 6:39Someone might hear that Jesus has come into the world, and say, “So what? What difference is that to me?” Here are two reasons to rejoice:1. Rejoice in the goodness of GodSuppose that this world was ruled by some dark power who sought our destruction. Suppose that this enemy sent his son to get his will done. There would be no Christmas. How could we celebrate the birth of one who came to destroy us?Instead of “I have come down from heaven to do the will of him who sent me,” we would hear, “I have come up from hell, and this is the will of him who sent me: that I should save nothing of all that he has given me, but tear it down on the last day.”However dark this world may seem, it is not ruled by some dark power. God in His abundant goodness offers eternal life to every person.2. Rejoice in your security as a believerYou may wonder, “Is it possible that after all my believing I may finally be lost? Could it be that my faith was not strong enough? Could it be that my repentance was not deep enough? Could I come up short?”No! It is the will of the Father that the Son should lose nothing of all He has been given. Your arrival in heaven does not depend on your feeble grip on Jesus but on His firm grip on you.Do you believe that Jesus Christ came into the world not to condemn you but to save you? Do you believe that if you come to Him, He will never cast you out? Why would you run from a Saviour like this?

“This is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life.”John 6:40Maybe you are not sure if what God wills is really for you. Let’s consider the words of Jesus together:“This is the will of my Father…”Some of us could be described as strong-willed. Once you get hold of something, you won’t let it go. How strong is the will of almighty God? When He determines to do something, nothing will stop Him.“Eternal Life”Jesus tells us here what God has determined to do. God has a gift and He wants you to receive it—the gift of eternal life! This is more than life that never ends. Eternal life will be forever blessed, because it will be a life in the presence of God.“Everyone…”The Father’s will is that everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ will have eternal life. Everyone! You can’t get more inclusive than that.“Everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him…”God offers eternal life, but there is something for you to do: “everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him” (6:40). The first statement is explained by the second. To look on the Son means to believe in Him. To trust who He is, what He has done, and what He has promised.“…should have eternal life”You might say, “I used to believe, but I have wandered away. It’s too late to come back.” Listen, it is the will of the Father that everyone who believes in the Son should have eternal life.You might say, “I have sinned in a dark and twisted way, and I don’t feel that there’s a way back to God.” Listen, it is the will of the Father that everyone who believes in the Son should have eternal life.Everyone! There is no question about the will of the Father.Is there something keeping you from God? Listen, it is the will of the Father that everyone who believes in the Son should have eternal life.

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.”John 6:38How did Jesus get the will of God done? Here are two ways:Jesus came down from heavenNotice Jesus tells us that He came “down from heaven.” His life did not begin in the manger. Before He lay in the arms of Mary, He was at the right hand of God the Father in heaven.He says, “I have come down from heaven.” No prophet, no religious leader could ever say this. Heaven was and is His home. Why did He come down from heaven?Jesus was ready to do whatever it took to get the Father’s will doneJesus’ mission is to get the will of God done: “Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Mat. 6:10). Jesus is telling us, “This is why I came into the world. I came to do the will of Him who sent me. He gave certain people to Me. And His will is that nothing given to Me will be lost.”Jesus went to the cross in order to get the Father’s will done. In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Mat. 26:39).Jesus went to the cross. He laid down His life as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all who would believe, and that is how the will of God to redeem the people He had given to His Son was accomplished.Take in the wonder of Jesus willingly coming down from heaven to face the cross for us so that God’s will would be done.