“I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”
Once the initial decision has been made and a place purchased in eternity won, the war is over…but the battle for life rages on.
When I realized that I could record athletic events and replay them later in all their HD glory, watching a game in half the time as I sped rapidly through commercials/halftime/time-outs, it was a revelation. The only thing that could ruin that experience was to know the eventual outcome. It wasn’t nearly as fun to watch if I already knew how the game ended.
Knowing that I will walk eternity’s shores is a comfort. Knowing the victory has been won has its’ own rewards. But if I rest too fully in that, the glory of living a life where the Kingdom is at hand each and every day, is lost. The mystery, adventure, uncertainty, and even the joy of overcoming adversity, can be stolen.
Once we have walked through that doorway and eternity is procured; our enemy has lost that war. The battle lines, however, get redrawn. Our enemy now comes to steal, kill, and destroy the abundant life purchased for us. So that we don’t live in the victory, joy, and the fulfillment afforded all of us. In order that we might walk in the quiet desperation that wouldn’t attract any others to join us for that ultimate prize.
As it turns out, deciding to give a life to Jesus or even offer a business to Him to be a vehicle for proclaiming His glory really wasn’t all that hard. Staying the course and living life every day in the tension of finding the abundant life while our enemy constantly assaults it, however, has been an incredibly hard journey.
Our little experiment of trying to translate everyday business with a Kingdom imperative has been completely opposed. Sometimes seeming like we are two steps forward only to find ourselves taking three steps back. Even the ground hard fought and taken is sometimes difficult to enjoy.
After half a decade of marching in a countercultural direction, there is much to celebrate:
- We are having a remarkable year by virtually any metric.
- We are slated to have a year of over 50% increase in sales.
- Revenue is expected to increase by 60%.
- We just had our most successful weekly sales performance in history.
- Our recent Table Group Assessment showed a remarkably healthy team.
- Other companies and leaders are translating our practices and experience for their own organizations and lives.
- We find ourselves in a position of getting to sort through talent to find the best fit rather than scratch for warm bodies to fill positions.
Despite all that there is to be grateful for, we often suffer from battle fatigue. We find it hard to enjoy the journey taken. Join us in praying that we would be able to recognize God’s glory showering down all around us. It is the doorway for many others to find the same.
- Are you finding the abundant life for yourself and the places you lead?
- Would the casual observer desire the life you’ve found?
- Are you living with the interpretive grid that you have an enemy constantly set against your success and joy?