I want to get a little more intentional about finishing up this blog series: 31 Days to Abundant Life. Since it’s been summer, things have been more chill around here with vacations and unpredictable schedules. I’m hoping to dig into the next 17 days and ask that God will reveal more and more of His heart to me, and to us, on this subject of Abundant Life. There's always more he wants to reveal to our hearts.
Can you think of one person in your life who consistently lives life abundant?
I’m not talking about someone who is perfect or seems to have it all together. I’m talking about someone who obviously, evidently, lives their life with abundance. (Remember, abundant means life overflowing, abounding, lavish, generous, bountiful, teeming.) I don’t think someone who lives life abundant necessarily has a lot of things or money. Life abundant is displayed as a posture of their heart.
The person that comes to mind for me is my great Aunt Ruth. What can I tell you about her? First of all, she was possibly the kindest person I’ve ever known. Kind, not just because that’s how she was, but because I believe she allowed the kindness of Christ to shine through her. She was generous with her time and her resources. She genuinely cared about you and anyone she met, for that matter.
The secret to life abundant, I think, is that there is no secret at all. We can choose to live in the teeming, bountiful, lavish love of Christ each and every day, despite anything. Whether we’re 85 or 5, Christ offers us life abundant. Whether we’re married or single, in a secure job or struggling to get by, Christ offers us life abundant. Whether we have 10 children or none, the best friends and family in the world or just a few close companions, Christ offers life abundant to us all.
The secret is not in how to have life abundant, the secret is in how to receive it. When I think of people who live it out, people like my Aunt Ruth, as opposed to people who don’t, I think there's one simple difference. Those who live abundant life have somehow learned the secret of receiving from Christ. They’ve allowed their lives to slow down enough to hear the sacred whisper. His whisper to come to him and receive. Those who are striving for it, always grasping for more, never quite getting what they think they want, I think they simply haven’t learned the art of receiving.
How do we learn this sacred art? Think about receiving a present on Christmas morning. What do you do when someones giving you a gift? ….. Nothing. You sit there, stare at the gift under the tree with your name on it, watch as they place it in your hands, and you smile. Some like to rip the paper off as fast as they can, some like to remove the bow slowly, unwrap the paper so it doesn’t rip, but no matter how you open it, inside will be the same gift. You look at the gift, “I love it!” you exclaim with a smile. You might stare at it for a while. Then, you look up at the gift giver and you thank them. You go over and give them a hug. You return to your gift and look at it some more and think about all that you want to do with it.
Can we think about receiving abundant life from Christ in the same way? Instead of striving or searching, simply stop and sit. Wait for him to place it in your hands, anticipate what’s inside, and each day, open the gift He promises to give to those he came to save.
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