John 10:9-10 contains one of the most coffee mug-able, Christian bookstore art-able, quotes in the entire Gospel
I came that they might have life and have it more abundantly.
This is a verse I think of often. Christ came that we might have full, abundant lives in him. But what does that mean? To gain insight, we need to look at the proceeding verses.
In John 10:3, Jesus says that the good Shepherd calls his sheep by name. So, part of the abundant life that Jesus came to give us is knowing that we have each individually been called to follow him. It is easy to slip into an impersonal mindset in our faith. God indeed calls all of us. But, it is also true that God is calling you personally. He knows you perfectly, knows all your strengths and weaknesses, and he calls you. He desires you.
I need to spend more time with that truth. God loves and desires me. He cherishes me. He came for me.
And not just that. Jesus desires that I would know and recognize him. It says it in verse four. "My sheep recognize my voice."
We are supposed to hear, recognize, and follow the voice of the Lord. That implies he is speaking. God wants to talk to me.
How? Well, it is through the work of the Holy Spirit. Listen to Jesus words about the Spirit, just a couple chapters later, in John 14:26,
The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name—he will teach you everything and remind you of all that [I] told you.
So, in this abundant life, we are supposed to recognize the voice of the Shepherd. The Holy Spirit accomplishes that and teaches us. We are called to live in the Spirit of God, and in his revelation, seeking His counsel. There is something so deeply personal about this abundant life. We are called by name into a relationship with Christ, through the Holy Spirit, and he teaches us what we need to know. Yes, of course, the Spirit teaches through the Church, what we would call public revelation, but also, the Spirit speaks personally, intimately, calling us individually by name and we are supposed to recognize his voice.
There is a line, right before Jesus speaks of the abundant life that could cause some confusion. Jesus says,
Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture.
Whoever enters through me will come in and go out? Come in and go out. It is tempting to just gloss over this. Coming in makes sense. We come into the Church and into salvation through Christ. But what about going out? What is the deal with that?
Remember how Jesus started this teaching. He contrasted the good Shepheard with a thief. The thief comes to steal and destroy. And if a sheep leaves the sheepfold with the thief, it will not go well. On the other hand, with the Shepherd, the sheep know that when they leave the sheepfold to go out into the larger world, they do so to find new pastures. The go in safety, knowing that they are with the Shepherd. Here is what Saint Agustine had to say about this verse.
What is this, shall go in and out? To enter into the Church by Christ the Door, is a very good thing, but to go out of the Church is not. Going in must refer to inward cogitation; going out to outward action; as in the Psalm, Man goeth forth to his work.
So by going in, we are accepting Christ into our lives. Giving him permission to reign in our minds and hearts. But, the life of a Christian is not just one of quiet contemplation. We are called to be a light in the darkness, and so we go out to bring the Kingdom through our lives for others.
Jesus sais he came so that we could have abundant lives in him. He is the Good Shepherd and calls us, individually, by name. His voice, through the Spirit, should be familiar. And, following him, we should go out into the world, confident that the Shepherd will care for us, his sheep.