Zoe

Zoe:

life the state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate every living soul life of the absolute fulness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God, and through him both to the hypostatic "logos" and to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature life real and genuine, a life active and vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions (among them a more perfect body), and to last for ever. Lately, I have been stuck on this word, Zoe, which is Greek for the word Life. This word is used 135 times in the New Testament. We know the verse in John 10:10 where Jesus states that he has come "to give abundant life." What does it look like to step into this abundant life? Although this has been one of my big questions for a long time, I often didn't know how I could discover, or walk in, abundant life. But I am beginning to recognize that the answer is that being connected to Jesus allows us to have life. In First John it says, "Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have th Son of God does not have life." The secret to living life fully, with purpose, is to have relationship with Jesus. The bible speaks about how Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life. When we walk close with Christ, we will experience life more fully. Walking close to Him means abiding. "abide" : to remain, to continue, to stay with, to dwell, to reside, to act in accord with, etc. I want to abide in the father. When we remain in him we bear fruit. I don't look to the result of bearing fruit, but I want to keep my eyes focused on Jesus so as to stay in his will. I want to keep eye contact with him continuously. but i've been thinking about how you have to learn eye contact. sometimes it's not natural. but I want to keep checking in with my father. When we are not in relationship with the Father, we don't have life. Grace recently said this to me, "To remain in the Father means He will remain in us, and when we do, just like the vine and the branches, we will bear much fruit......but this fruit isn't necessarily the fruit that we think it is. What kind of fruit does an apple tree produce? Apples of course. So in the same way by remaining in the Father, we will be like the Father, and that is the fruit!" We know we are alive when we are connected to the vine. The fruit is to be like Christ. It means we will be clothed with the same qualities that he has in himself- love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control and even more. To walk with the Father, is to walk in Life because he is the source of Life. side note: Incomplete thought: Isn't it funny that when we strive, we often don't get anywhere? It's only when we abide in Christ that we receive peace, rest, contentment, joy and it is when we are in that place that he is able to show himself to us. When we are preoccupied with crossing him off our list, we lose our love. When we abide and delight there is so much to revel in. I think God has something to say about striving. He even saved us from our strivings. How come when we worry about something, nothing happens? but when I am simply "being" I am able to live? I guess God= Freedom and striving isn't complete freedom. I hope you sit with Christ. I pray that you abide in him because as you do, you will live and move with vitality.