Further Study: Ellen G. White's famous book Steps to Christ focuses on our life in Christ. If, in the context of this week's lesson, one has to choose one particular chapter, one might well go to chapter 8: "Growing Up Into Christ" (pp. 67-76). "A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is in Christ. Your weakness is united to His strength, your ignorance to His wisdom, your frailty to His enduring might. So you are not to look to yourself, not to let the mind dwell upon self, but look to Christ. Let the mind dwell upon His love, upon the beauty, the perfection, of His character."—Page 70.
Discussion Questions: 
When people are severely disabled or terminally ill, the question often asked is whether their life still has "quality." Should the quality of life be defined primarily in physical terms, or are other aspects also important, or possibly even more essential? How, too, does our understanding of the origin of life influence our answer?
For many people the looming specter of death robs life of all meaning and purpose. After all, if sooner or later we'll all be dead and every memory of us forgotten, what can this life possibly mean? How has Jesus answered that question for us and eliminated this concern?
What aspects of your contemporary culture rob life of its full meaning? That is, what kind of ideals and moral values are being promoted that reduce life to something less than it should be? How can we as Adventist Christians respond to these challenges?
In what ways can our health message and principles of better living play into the promise of an "abundant life"? Might we be shortchanging ourselves on this promise?
Summary:
| This week's lesson focused on the "full" or "abundant" life found in Jesus Christ. It is a life lived in a responsible way, caring for our physical life as best as we can. It is also a life lived in relationships, for God designed humans to live in communion with others. Most of all, it is a life totally renewed in Jesus, a life that will be changed and growing in God's grace. |
| I N S I D E Story | ||
| Making Up for Lost Time by JESSE HURDLE I ran away from home when I was 12 and grew up on the streets of Trinidad. I survived by stealing and fighting and selling drugs. At 18 I returned to Tobago, where my mom lived. She had become a Seventh-thy Adventist and wanted me to go to church with her, but I wasn't interested. I married a good woman, but I didn't change. She went to church and prayed for me, and I went out to gamble. Then something happened, and I realized that my life was heading in the wrong direction. I hardly knew my chil-dren, and I was a terrible example to them. So, one Sabbath I went to church with my wife and committed my life to Christ. "This is an answer to prayer!" she cried. I had a lot to make right with God and my family, but God changed me. He saved me and my marriage in spite of myself. The church members surrounded me with prayer and put me to work. I grew in Christ and obeyed when He told me to share my faith with others. I told my friends, my colleagues, and people on the street how God had changed me. I challenged them to give God a try. Still, I was surprised when God asked me to hold evangelistic meetings, for I'd never gone beyond primary school. But we stepped out in faith and made the meetings a family affair. We pitched a tent and held three weeks of meetings. My wife sang, my daughter helped with the programs, and my son handled the public address system. When the meetings came to a close, the people asked for more, so we added another week of meetings. Twelve people were baptized. Ronny was one of my best friends. He helped me repair the church roof and would do anything I asked. But he refused to let God into his life. "I'll go to church when the undertaker takes me," he'd say. I talked, I prayed, I urged. But he refused. Then one day he died of a massive heart attack at 45. His death was a huge blow to me. I felt that I had failed God because my friend refused to accept Jesus as his Savior. Please share your faith with others, and give your mission offerings now. One day it will be too late.
Jesse Hurdle shares his faith with everyone he meets in Tobago | ||
| Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. email: info@adventistmission.org website: www.adventistmission.org |
Ronny's death made me realize that death is only one heartbeat away. I can't let someone go without sharing a word about God. I may not get another chance to speak to them. I think of the people I led into drugs before I was a Christian. Now I want to lead them all to Christ. 
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