Life!

The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows]. JOHN 10:10 AMP

Two different authorities, two parallel lines; two destines, two eternal destinations. Both are introduced to us first on the basis of personality, then assignment and then eternal destination.

First, the thief is the one who steals, kills and destroys. He owns the world and its system and processes, and all he offers are what he is himself destined for. He is a thief, who takes what he cannot give, yet can only give out of his eternal possession. He is already destined for eternal damnation, so he really cannot offer anything else.

Then the One who refers to himself as the door. He is the only way approved by God as the way to life. No one else can fulfil that role. He is the One who calls himself Life and who alone can also give life to all who come to him. He has Life in him so all who come to him also have that life.

The options are always open before us, for as long as we are alive. A time is coming when the grace to choose will be withdrawn, and all men will be judged on the basis of the One they had followed all their lives. You had better be sure you have made the right choice. His time of favour is here.