Life – and 7 other L Words

By: Brian Harris

It’s one of Jesus’ most popular claims, “I am come that you may have life, and life in all its fullness” (John 10:10). The implication is clear. Follow me, and you will find the life that is most truly life.

Now given that Jesus was the speaker, we shouldn’t be too quick to assume we know what this means. After all, the same Jesus said that if we want to find our lives we must be willing to lose them (Matt 10:39) and that the first will be last (Matt 20:16), and that the way is narrow, and only a few find it (Matt 7:14). These are puzzling ideas – deeply challenging ones. Loss, and last and narrow are not likely to be our first choice of words to accompany “life in all its fullness”.

A Framework for Flourishing

With this important qualifier, let me have a go at adding 7 “L” words to help fill out what I think “life in all its fullness” might look like. But however perplexing, don’t forget to add loss, and last and narrow to them, because I suspect that it is in the interaction of them all that a helpful portrait of the flourishing life emerges.

Seven “L” Words for Living Fully

So what are my 7 “L” words? They are live, love, listen, learn, laugh, lead and leave. A quick comment on each…

Live

Live, because not to is to turn your nose up at the gift God has given you. And life is an astonishing gift. Dive right into it… (text continues)

Love

Love, because it is at the heart of all Jesus taught and did… (text continues)

Listen

Listen, because you weren’t the first here and there is much to learn… (text continues)

Learn

Learn, because it is such a waste to keep on repeating the same mistakes… (text continues)

Laugh

Laugh, because my goodness, life is funny… (text continues)

Lead

Lead, because you have something to offer… (text continues)

Leave

Leave, a strange word to end on, but perhaps that’s because I’m writing as a 68 year old… 

The Paradox of Fullness

And so to the promise of Jesus, who reminds us that he came that we might have life and life in all its fullness – life where we live, love, listen, learn, laugh, lead and leave, always remembering that we find our life when we lose it, the first will be last, and narrow is the way.

A Call to Live Deeply

This is the invitation and the challenge: to embrace the fullness of life in all its paradoxes, to live with courage, humility, and joy — and to trust that in the losing, we find the truest life of all.