Abundance: August 27, 2010

Today's Word for Friday August 27, 2010

ABUNDANCE

DEFINITION

An extremely plentiful or over sufficient quantity or supply; affluence; wealth; overflowing fullness.

SCRIPTURE

"And let your soul delight in abundance." Isaiah 55:2

"Then Jesus said to them, 'Watch out! Be on your guard against all kind of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.'" Luke 12:15

"When God gives any man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work - this is the gift of God." Ecclesiastics 5:19

KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

Abundance means different things to different people across our world. The definition is affected by our cultures and our living standards. But looking at the word abundance from a spiritual perspective we must view our possessions, whether large or small, as a gift from God.

In the book of Ecclesiastics, Solomon reflects back on his life. Solomon had it all. He had wealth, power and fame. He knew what it was like to have abundance. Solomon had asked God for wisdom. Through his wisdom he recognized that the abundance of "things" is not the source of joy. We are to rejoice and be happy because every good "thing" comes from God. Solomon reminds us that it is God who enables us to enjoy what we have and "accept our lot" and be happy.

In Luke 12:15, Jesus tells us that our life does not consist of the abundance of our possessions. The worth of anyone's life has nothing to do with being wealthy, powerful or wise. Jesus warns us to "WATCH OUT" against getting greedy. Often the more we have the more we want. If God blesses us with abundance, that is a good thing. Our perspective to the abundance that God has blessed us with is important. If our perspective is to accumulate abundance for ourselves with no concern for helping others it will be a shallow happiness and we are not truly rich and we will not be happy in the abundance we've been blessed with.

A truly rich life comes in living a life with gratitude to the giver of our abundance, sharing what has been given to us and then living a life of faith and obedience to Him

Most people think of abundance based on the "things" they have in life such as possessions and money. The standard of abundance is different to the family living in the mountains of Appalachia compared to the family living in Beverly Hills here in America. Even the poorest of the poor in America have more than the family living in a lean to cardboard "house" on the garbage dump in Manila. We can't begin to imagine what they might consider abundance.

Our perception of abundance here in America is found not in what we have but in what we enjoy and are thankful for every day. Abundance does not mean happiness. Some of the unhappy people in the world today have, in worldly standards, everything. But we have seen so many times that the very opposite is true. The rich often have no room in their life for God who is the giver of true happiness. People with very little are often the ones with hearts overflowing with joy and thanksgiving for what God has given them.

This is true with families we have seen living in the slums of east Africa, the families living on the top of garbage dumps in the Philippines and even many families that live in the inner cities of America.

When God blesses you with abundance, whether it is considered large or small, thank Him for His blessing to you. When we were raising our children we lived on a very tight budget. Dottie was a master in making dinners on a low budget that each one of us really enjoyed. She probably had a dozen ways to make casseroles and everyone loved them. For our family we did not have abundance but we really never had a complaint from any of our six children. God always provided just enough for all that we needed. When God blesses you with an abundance of wealth, an abundance of talent or an abundance of time, you have a greater responsibility to use your abundance for the glory of God.

LEARNING

Our memory verse for this week is found in Ephesians 6:10.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

PRAYER

Thank you for the abundance that You have given our family. Help us to use all that You have given us as You would have us use it. Bless us this day and may Christ be glorified through all that we do.