Destroyed or Restored? by Greg Laurie

Destroyed or Restored?

“The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 nkjv).

Some time ago I was at Disneyland with two of my grandchildren, and I discovered something: All varieties of roller coaster rides now nauseate me.

In 1977 I was on the inaugural ride of Space Mountain. I remember thinking, “This isn’t even scary at all.”

But this time, I was thinking, “When can I get off this ride?” It actually made me sick to my stomach.

Then we went on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and that nauseated me too. Everything nauseated me except the corn dog I had. That was the highlight of the day, no question about it.

That’s how sin can be. What used to be fun now makes us sick. Maybe we used to do things that were fun at first. Then they were not as fun. And then they were a little bit miserable. Ultimately, they became completely depressing, and we can’t believe that we wasted our lives doing those things.

The Bible talks about the pleasures of sin for a season. For instance, Hebrews tells us, “It was by faith that Moses, when he grew up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to share the oppression of God’s people instead of enjoying the fleeting pleasures of sin” (11:24–25 nlt).

For Moses, it basically came down to the simple recognition that the worst God had to offer was better than the best the world had to offer.

People will let you down. Circumstances will let you down. But Jesus never will let you down. He said, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” (John 10:10 nkjv).

You have a choice: Death or life. Be destroyed or be restored. It’s really up to you.