When I first heard the phrase "Abundant Living" I got terribly worried and wondered if this was a teaching on prosperity. Now don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with being wealthy, I just feel that too much emphasis is placed on it by society and some churches and people feel that they need to have a lot of money in order to be happy. Over the last year I have come to realize what this phrase really means (yes I know, I can be a tad slow sometimes!).
A year ago I had both the pleasure and the pain of spending time with a friend as she battled with cancer. I was privileged to sit with her at the oncology centre whilst she underwent a couple of chemotherapy treatments. This generally took a couple of hours and what an insight I received into the human spirit at that time. One gentleman there – I'll call him Tom, was the heart and soul of the centre. He too was there to receive his chemotherapy treatments, but he made it his business to keep everyone cheerful and focused on a future filled with good health. He planned parties and camping trips. He laughed, teased and joked with everyone present and never failed to make it clear how much he loved the Lord. He was living, despite his cancer, abundantly!
The lesson that I learned there was that happiness was not dependant on health or wealth but rather it is a condition of the heart. God has given us free will and thereby enabled us to choose how we are going to handle every situation that we are faced with. Wealth does not provide happiness at all. It may make our lives more physically comfortable and provide us with material goods, but it cannot and does not provide happiness. Certainly with wealth we also have the ability to help others, to be a positive influence in our community, but the percentage of wealthy people who actually do this is not very high. Wealth does not prevent a person from contracting life threatening diseases, nor does it lengthen your life-span in any way. It cannot avert tragedies from happening and the wealthy person feels as much emotional pain and suffering as the poorest person on the streets.
When God wanted us to live abundantly He wanted us to love abundantly, to have abundant joy, to pour our hearts into caring for those around us, wherever He places us. To know with all our hearts that He loves us so much that He was willing to send His precious Son to die for us. This knowledge should ignite a fire in our hearts to want to reach out to the lost and the hurting, the poor (both spiritually and materially) and the persecuted and to be His hands and feet in the lives of the people around us.
God may bless some people with abundant financial wealth, but as He has provided the blessing, He wants it to be used for His purposes. The more a wealthy person blesses others with their giving, the more blessing they will receive. Some people however, He blesses with abundant love! Those wonderful people, who cannot help but love others and commit their lives to caring for them. In this instance, Mother Theresa immediately comes to mind. She may have lived a very frugal life in one of the poorest countries in the world, surrounded by sickness and poverty, but she certainly lived her life abundantly!
I am sure that we can all think of examples of people either famous or within our immediate spheres who live abundantly the way that God intended them too! Their lives are filled with an inner peace and joy that cannot be explained and despite their financial position (or complete lack thereof, they are happy!
How can you live more abundantly? Is there more that you can do for your family? Can you spend more time with your spouse and children? Is there someone you know who has been unhappy lately that you could spend time with to help them through this difficult patch? Have you got money or food to spare for someone worse off than yourself? How many people have you hugged today or at least given a smile too? There are so many things that you can do to bring joy into the life of someone else and yet at the same time, get so much joy out of living! You could pray for people you know and through that prayer watch miracles happen in their lives! When you pray for someone you bring a petition on their behalf to our Creator…. What a wonderful gift that is!
Live life abundantly! Spend time with God every day; read His message of love to you – the Bible; be willing to do God's work and be a blessing in the lives of the people around you; smile often; hug regularly; pray constantly and try and see other people as God sees them.
No comments:
Post a Comment