John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

Have you looked around lately? I mean, really studied the lives of those around you. Have you noticed that many of the people you see are lost. They have no direction in their lives and are clueless about what they're doing. They are the ones who have not found any life at all. Empty shells walking, existing, but not really living at all. The've fallen victim to the thief in the first part of the verse.

Or you may see those who have come to know Jesus. They have given their hearts and lives to Him. They do all the things that good Christians do, but, just like that first group, they don't have much sense of direction. They love Jesus, but that's about the extent of it. I knew a Christian who once said the only difference between him and and his non-Christian friends was that he gave 10% of his money to the church. How sad! There has got to be more to Christianity than giving some of my money to the church or to doing religious acts in hopes of finding some kind of joy and meaning in my life. And that brings us to the most important part of the verse: the comma.

Commas give pause to sentences. They put the reader on hold for a moment. In essence, they are what we just described. So many people settle for living life at the comma, but Jesus came to give us life past the comma. He came to give us life to the full!

Life past the comma isn't about having more stuff, or, as Christians would put it, blessings from God. It isn't about having more to do in our lives. That's just business. No, the full life is one that has stopped asking more FROM GOD and has started asking for more OF GOD! People who live life past the comma live with purpose and direction. They may not make lots of money, but they are full of the glory and character of God and they affect the lives around them. They make people who are at the comma (or worse, before the comma) want to move beyond it and find the same passion. They motivate others to live at a higher standard of living: a standard of honesty and integrity, compassion and truth. People who live past the comma are the people through whom God can change the world.

So, where are you living? Maybe you should pause,

and think about it.