The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10
Why is it that when we read this verse, in which Jesus says He came to give us an abundant life, we automatically think that it is speaking about money or material things?
God has said that He will provide for our needs (“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19), so we are not talking about simply meeting our needs. We are talking about an abundant life, but what is abundance?
Prior to coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, if you had read a verse promising me an abundant life, I would have laughed right in your face (you probably wouldn’t have liked the old me : ).
The funny thing about “abundance” is that it is not a finite amount of anything. It is simply an extreme amount of something. If you had asked me what abundance looked like, prior to my relationship with Jesus Christ, I would have told you that (for me) it would be to own my own home, have a good job and to be happy. If you own your own home, have a good job and are relatively happy this probably wouldn’t look like abundance to you. For you abundance might be a second home, a better job or ability to retire comfortably, etc. that is because “abundance” looks differently to most people.
Now that Jesus is Lord of my life, do you know what abundance looks like, to me? Abundance to me is knowing Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior. It is the knowledge that my Heavenly Father has forgiven me for my sinful, abhorrent behavior and loves me passionately. Abundance to me is knowing that I will have eternity in heaven with my Heavenly Father. Abundance to me is watching my Heavenly Father take my broken childhood and my sinful, poor, decisions and turn them into a beautiful way to use me (sinful, broken, forgiven, me) to glorify Himself and minister to others.
Does God provide good gifts and bless us. He provides us with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness and faithfulness, through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, when we come to know Jesus as our Lord and Savior. Those are beautiful gifts and fruits of the Spirit.
Might He also provide us with material things? To quote a couple of verses that we used yesterday “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him.” Matthew 7:11. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow, due to change.” James 1:17. Of course He will. He desires to bless us, why else would He send His one and only Son to die, in our place?
God does provide us with gifts, the fact that He provides us with the ability to earn a wage and make purchases at all is a blessing. But remember that the scripture warns us, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21
In our main verse (The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it more abundantly. John 10:10) Jesus says that He came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. Through His sacrifice (when we accept Him as our personal Lord and Savior) we obtain eternal life. Imagine what a more abundant life must look like to the Son of God, who dwells in the paradise that is heaven, who is loved by and is in the presence of our Heavenly Father. The magnitude of the abundant life that He offers is beyond our comprehension. But not beyond obtaining.
So to answer our question…what is Abundance? Jesus our Lord and Savior is abundance, all the abundance we will ever need and all the abundance we should ever desire.
I pray that you will be overwhelmed by the abundance that is Jesus. That you might be inundated by the magnitude and beauty of the forgiveness of our Heavenly Father and the bountiful blessings that He has poured out on you. Praise our Risen Lord!
If you do not know the abundance of Jesus Christ and you do not have a personal relationship with Him I pray that you will go to our Life Preserver page and pray the prayer that is outline there. When (because I know that you will ; ) you pray that prayer, please send me an email at admin@Forgiven-N-Loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you and might help you grow in your knowledge of and relationship with Jesus.
Luv ya!
