Abundant Life . . . In the Meantime

Several years ago, I attended a Sunday school class that was studying Waking the Dead by John Eldredge. In this book, Eldredge discusses the fullness of life God promises believers in Scripture. For instance, Eldredge references John 10:10 in which Jesus says “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (NIV), or have “it more abundantly” (KJV). Eldredge writes how this promise of life is much more than eternal life. He observes that focusing solely on how our life in Christ relates to eternal life overlooks an important part of what life in Christ means: “It’s like saying getting married means, ‘Because I’ve given you this ring, you will be taken care of in your retirement.’ And in the meantime? Isn’t there a whole lot more to the relationship in the meantime?” (page 11 (emphasis in original)). Indeed.

As many of us have heard, Christianity is not a religion; it is a relationship. And in that relationship, our life is much more than about getting the prize of eternal life. We are to cultivate, deepen, enjoy our relationship with God and others each day in order to experience the abundant life God promises us. I think that Christian law students are lawyers may struggle in focusing on the “now” in our walk with God more than other believers. Many of us are “task-oriented” who often worry about the things on our to-do list. We therefore find it difficult to stop and smell the roses because we are too busy to get to the next thing on our list. In some ways, we reflect the tendency of Martha to be preoccupied with the tasks before us, and we do not enjoy basking in the presence of the Lord (see Luke 10:38-42).

I know I have that tendency. This point was brought home to me the year after I graduated from law school. That year, I was working as a judicial clerk in my home state of South Carolina. I knew that I would only be in the town of my clerkship for a year as I had taken a position with a law firm in D.C. for the following year. When I met people at church or at other events, I would often let it be known that I was only in town for a year. One of my friends called me on that and reminded me that I was overlooking the relationships God was giving me at that time and instead was only focusing on what was to come. I needed to remember that God had plans for me each day; and in the end, during that year, the Lord blessed me with relationships with some amazing brothers and sisters in Christ.

We need to remember that in the meantime our lives should be “abundant,” and not simply focused on accomplishment or achievement. The Greek word translated as “to the full” or “abundantly” in John 10:10 is perissos, which can also be translated “superior, extraordinary, surpassing” (from A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament by Joseph Henry Thayer). I do not think Christians are known in the world as having “superior” lives, but that is what God promises us! We need to take time to enjoy the blessings of the Lord and not worry about tomorrow (see Matthew 6:25-34). Of course, God calls us to plan and be good stewards of the gifts he has given us. But we also should relish in the peace and joy of being a child of God. What an amazing thing it would be if we Christian law students and lawyers could model that peace and joy for the rest of the legal community.

~ Associate Dean Natt Gantt, Regent University School of Law

Biblical Excellence

Excellence. We often hear that term in Christian circles as an exhortation on the standard we should strive to attain as we face the tasks before us. Indeed, Proverbs 22:29 says, “Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before unknown men” (NKJV). Certainly as Christian lawyers and law students, we want to “stand before kings” and be people of influence. But what does it mean to “excel”? Or more to the point, what does it mean to be “excellent”?

Our world is constantly concerned with assessment. From kindergarten to the bar exam and beyond, our society is consistently assessing us to see how we perform along some objective scale. From these influences, we may began to think that our value is based on how well we perform on these tests in life or how well we perform vis-à-vis our peers. Is it therefore true that biblical excellence in our world means, in part, performing well on these various tests given us in life?

I have thought a good bit about this issue because I believe that many of us in the legal community, including myself, tend towards being externally motivated. We tend to measure ourselves—and our worth—by some external standard. Furthermore, my sense is because many lawyers and law students are “Type A,” we tend towards being perfectionists. I know that I have struggled with that in my life.

I am thankful to report that biblical excellence, however, has nothing to do with how well we stack up to others. It is not based on whether we are “perfect” in terms of getting everything right. It is not even based on whether we got an “A” on that important test we just took.

Colossians 3:23 reads, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward” (NIV). Notice that the emphasis in this passage is not on achieving some external standard; rather it is on working heartily at the tasks the Lord has set before us. In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul similarly charges Timothy to “[d]o your best to present yourself to God as one approved” (NIV). Thus, our mother got it right when she encouraged us in first grade, “honey, do your best.”

As I like to say to law students, excellence is “maximizing the gifts that God has given you.” God has created us as unique individuals; we cannot all make “A’s” on every test we take. But we can all pursue excellence by doing our best and working diligently at the tasks before us.

Let’s strive to do our best as lawyers, law students, believers in Christ. And let’s be thankful that we have the pleasure of working for the wonderful, loving, holy, gracious, and perfect boss—the Lord.

~ Associate Dean Natt Gantt, Regent University School of Law