Abundancefeatured

This painting was inspired in part by our recent visit to Victoria Falls in Zimbabwe.  The Falls are over a mile wide and the water plunges over 350 feet into a gorge.  With recent rains upstream the abundance of water plunging into the gorge was overwhelming and breathtaking.

This abundance started me thinking about Jesus’ words in John 10:10, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”  I think it is often easy for us misinterpret those words from our Savior.

We may mistakenly think that Jesus is promising us an abundance of things that our consumer culture has convinced us is vital to our happiness.  If we only had that new car, or a better home, or a bigger bank account, or that cute pair of shoes then we would experience His abundance.   Perhaps we think Jesus is promising that if our challenging or painful circumstances would just, “poof”, go away, then our abundance would be deep and eternal.

My experience has been that the abundance offered by “stuff” or even improved circumstances is fleeting.  My greedy little heart always wants more “stuff” and perfection in circumstances is always just beyond my grasp!  Even Victoria Falls doesn’t always deliver an abundance of water.  When the dry season or drought comes, the volume of water is dramatically diminished.

So where is the abundance that Jesus has promised us?  I found some verses in His Word, that may give us some clues! 

• “How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.” Psalm 31:19
• “They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness.” Psalm 145:7

These Old Testament verses (along with many others) seem to point me to the truth that God Himself is the source of our deeply desired abundance.  Jesus reinforces this truth when He spoke of the most important Commandment, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.”

God desired so much for us to experience the abundance that He offers, that He provided a way through His Son.  His abundance starts with His freely given gift of grace.  In 1 Timothy 1:14, Paul says, “The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.”  The abundance that God offers us has nothing to do with the stuff we accumulate or whatever circumstances in which we find ourselves.  His abundance transcends our circumstances and extends into eternity thanks to the work Jesus did on the cross!

God greatest desire is to have us experience this abundance.  It comes when we love Him with all our hearts, when we obey Him, and when we trust Him.  For me, the hard part is that He does not force this on me.  I have a choice each moment of each day – to walk with Him or to “do my own thing.”  My track record is so very spotty, but I found a verse that I hope will inspire me to choose to walk with Him.  “How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!  People take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.   For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.” (Psalm 36:7-9)

My prayer is that with this vision of His abundance fresh in my mind (and yours!), we will become better and better at choosing to follow Him moment by moment.   His overwhelming and breathtaking abundance awaits! [jetpack_subscription_form]