Motto 2010
I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full
The statement ‘Jesus is pro-life’ can be wide open to misunderstanding in our culture.
I do believe, by the way, that Jesus would have been sympathetic to the rights of the unborn. But the campaign politics of the Pro Life movement is not the meaning of our motto text for 2010.
The motto sits in chapter 10 of John’s Gospel, which describes Jesus as the Good Shepherd who protects us from the enemies of life by dying for us. Those enemies include false saviours in whom we might be tempted to place our trust.
And when Jesus refers to the life we can enjoy because of his death, he’s not thinking of life as an extension of time bur rather our enjoyment of the life of God within us. Eternal life is a qualitative rather than a quantitative thing. There is a quality of life which can be ours now in the present.
According to Jesus, you’re not living unless you know God. But when we know God personally by hearing and responding to the word of Jesus, He promises abundant life in which we’ll know purpose and peace.
So if Jesus is pro-life, the Christian should be too.
Peter Baker
Senior Minister
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