I think first place to start is in John 10:10 where John says this, "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." This is the million dollar question, "What did Jesus mean when he "Abundantly"? You see so many people look at this verse and say, "Ah hah, You see Jesus has come so that I can have it all (money, fame, fortune, prestige, etc. anything I can name or think of). Is that really what Jesus is saying here. Well to determine what Jesus is saying one must look at this scripture in the context of the scripture both before and after it; one must also look at this scripture in the context of the chapter it is in, the individual book it is in, and look at the context of the whole of the Bible. Now I do not have the space or time to write a dissertation on this subject but what I would like to do is hit the high points, give you some food for thought, and then let you do some looking in scripture for yourself.
In looking at these scripture we must first understand that Jesus is speaking in physical terms with spiritual meanings. John 10 verses 7-21 you have a section of scripture that is speaking of Jesus being the "Good Shepherd". He says that he is the door for the sheep (in a physical form but with spiritual implications) and that anyone that has come before or after him is a thief. This is very significant because we see a reference to the "thief" in the John 10:10 passage. We must also understand who is thief that Jesus is referring to here. Thief is none other than satan, the devil, and his demons and followers. When you see that Jesus the shepherd is trying to show a spiritual meaning here and understand that satan is trying to destroy all that Christ is trying to do SPIRITUALLY you then you start to get a clearer picture about what He is saying in verse 10. Verse 10 has everything to do with the Spiritual side of life and nothing to do with the physical. As my pastor friend pointed out to me, and I agree, Paul tells us that "Jesus is our life." If our life is Jesus and Jesus is speaking about the spiritual rather than the physical then this verse can never be about living a life with more "STUFF"!! When Jesus says that He has come to give to us so that we have life, and that we can have it more abundantly He is referring to two things: 1) Salvation (in and through Jesus Christ) and 2) that we can have an abundant Spiritual walk with the Lord that cannot be destroyed by satan.
You see, when we come to God the Father through Jesus Christ the Son, then our life from that moment is not about us! It not about our pleasures, our wealth, out health, our fame, or our fortune! Our life from the moment of salvation up until we take or dying breath is all about HIM!! Know this, you can and have an "Abundant Life" Spiritually, that is the promise of God but just make sure you are not trying to take a scripture and make it into something that it was not meant to say so you can claim it for your personal gain. The Lord is always more concerned with your Spiritual well being than your physical pleasure or desires. We should not be as concerned with have an abundant life (Physically) now but should be desiring to have Christ's Life more Abundantly (Spiritually)!! Let me finish with this final statement, "When Scripture and its promises become about you rather than Him then you have set yourself in a seat that you have no right to sit in."
I pray that this has challenged you and given you some insight on the scripture. Tell me what you think, I would love to hear from you!! Also, I want to thank my friend, Lee McDowell for the conversation we had last week and without even knowing it contributed to this!!.God bless!!