Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's
house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place
for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto
myself; that where I am, there ye may be also (Jn.14:1-3).
It has been said that Jesus came so that we would not have to go to hell, but that we
might go to heaven instead. He Himself told us that He was sent so that we might not
perish, but that we could have eternal life. But that life is that which is more abundant
life, and that is the life that is in Him, for He has said, "I am the way, the truth
and the life," and He goes on to say that no one will come to the Father but by Him.
And in this we find the reason for His coming, in that He has come to reconcile us unto
the Father so that we might truly know what life is, and that we might experience it more
fully.
But what is that life? As already stated, that life is in Him. Our definition of a full
life will fail to bring true fulfillment if that definition does not include Christ. A
sign that a fruit tree has life is that it bears fruit. Jesus tells us that He is the vine
and we are the branches, and that if we remain in Him and He in us that we will bear much
fruit. It is not that we bear fruit that makes us alive, but that we remain in Him who is
life--that is what makes us alive. The much fruit is the evidence that we are dwelling in
the Life.
So fullness of life is not measured in how much we possess, what kind of job or income we
have, how much experience or education we have, or even how much we have done; instead,
fullness of life is found by being like the branch attached the vine that is Christ. We
live because He is life and we dwell in Him and draw life from Him.
So we see that Christ came to bring us life, and that life is found in Him as we are
reconciled to Him and to the Father. He has come to show us the Father and to reveal to us
the Father's love for us, and the Father's desire to draw us unto Himself. For we were
created for fellowship with Him and sin has divided us from the presence of God. But the
work of Christ has made it possible to be brought back into right fellowship with God for
this life, and for the next.
So the purposes of Christ are threefold: reconciliation, fellowship and glorification
(there are sure to be many more purposes, but we are going to focus on these three
aspects). The restoration of a fallen and sinful people to the Father is the gospel of
reconciliation, as discussed above. We shall sum up fellowship by referring to Adams
fellowship with God in his walks that God took with Adam in the cool of the day. Before
Adam sinned, and while his relationship with God was good, the fellowship God had with
Adam was sweet, unhindered and perfect. I imagine that as they walked together, God talked
with Adam about many things; life, creation, experiences Adam was having with his new life
and new surroundings, and so on. It was sure to be a time in which Adam was getting to
know God deeply, and learning to love Him by experience. And then Adam sinned. But God
through Christ brought reconciliation, and restored fellowship. And we are able once more
to walk with God in the cool of the day.
Christ has also brought to us the hope of glorification: the knowledge that we will one
day be perfected and dwell with Him in a more perfect place--and in a more perfect
fellowship. In this we find purpose for life that goes beyond this life. And in this we
find an abundance of living because we know that our life has purpose that extends beyond
our current existence. But we must remember that the fullness of life is in Him who is
Life. The work of Christ has reconciled us to God and has opened the door for us to
fellowship with Him, walking with Him in the cool of the day; and His work allows us to
experience a fullness to life that extends beyond our present living. But we must first
receive the work of Christ, and we must take time to walk with God each day, and in so
doing He shall teach us of Himself, His love for us, and what He has for us in this life
and the next. But what shall we know of any of it, if we don't take the time to walk with
Him in the garden in the cool of the day? Is everything else we have to do today really
more important than our time with Him? To us, our time with Him may often seem
trivial--but to Him--it was worth dying for. And all so that where He is, there we may be
also.
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