Copyright ©2017 by Ayodele Ajileye
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Ayodele Ajileye
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Unless otherwise stated, all scriptural references are from the New Living Translation.
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. John 10:10 NKJV
I believe that you are familiar with John 10:10 because it is a very popular passage of the bible that Christians quote. And you probably don’t have questions concerning that single verse. Well, I had a lot of questions on that verse of the bible, and I know that by the time I share my questions with you, you will also want to get answers to those questions.
When I was a child between ages seven and nine, this verse started coming up in my heart over and over again, may be because it is a popular verse that people quote a lot and my Sunday School teachers make me memorize it. Being very inquisitive, I started wondering, “If the thief comes to steal, there must be something to steal. If the thief comes to kill, there must be something to kill. And if the thief comes to destroy, there must be something to destroy.” Then the answer came in the same verse and I thought, “Ok, the thief comes to steal life, and that is why Jesus said that He has come to restore the stolen life to man.” When I got that answer, I went to rest and I prayed like most Christians that God should not allow my life to be stolen, killed or destroyed. However, another problem came up in the same book of John in chapter 3 verse 16. It says,
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
I thought, “But it is only a person who lives that can believe. That means there is a life apart from this normal breathing in and breathing out.” Then I started hunting for answers. “What is this life that Christ restores to mankind, and if it is a restoration, then it means that mankind had the life and it was stolen, killed or destroyed. At what point was it stolen, killed or destroyed?”
Now, I think I’ve triggered your curiosity. Now that I’ve got a better understanding of what Jesus meant by the word “life”, I’ve always searched to see how many believers are living that life even though it has been restored to them. And again I saw another passage of the bible coming true, and that is 2 Corinthians 6:1, it says,
We then, as workers together with Him also plead with you not to receive the grace of God in vain. NKJV
NLT says, “As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it.” However, I see believers receiving the grace of God in vain by ignoring it. But how won’t the grace or the life He gives be ignored if it is not known? This is why I am glad to write this book in which the very life that God gives, that could be stolen, killed or destroyed, and that Jesus restores is revealed. So, fasten your seatbelt and enjoy your ride through the revelation contained in this book. I want you to key yourself into living the life that God gives and show that life to everyone around you so that they can also live their God-given lives.