A is for Abundance by Marcia Lee Laycock

 

 

Photo by micheile dot com on Unsplash

“I wish I had more money.” My friend gave a long sigh.

“Me too,” I responded. Watching my bank account dwindle after publishing my last book, Merrigold’s Very Best Home, has left me despairing of ever being able to produce a second one in the series I have imagined. Yes, a sizeable money tree growing in my back yard would certainly be nice.

“But not all things are helpful,” as 1 Corinthians 6:12 says. The apostle is talking about sexual immorality in that passage, but perhaps the principle can be applied to other areas of life.

Dictionary.com defines abundance this way:

1.  1-  an extremely plentiful or oversufficient quantity or supply.

2.   2- overflowing fullness: an abundance of the heart.

 

Usually, when we hear the word abundance, we think of #1. But consider that second definition. Overflowing fullness. That implies more than physical wealth. It implies a deep contentment, an “abundance of the heart” that does not depend on the size of our bank accounts or the possessions we can list in our assets column, or the number of published books on our shelf.

Perhaps wealth would, indeed, be a detriment to the true wealth we seek in the deepest parts of our being.

According to scripture, there is only one way to achieve such abundance. “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:33, ESV).

Those who spout prosperity theology would twist that scripture to mean that God will make you rich when you become a believer in Christ. All you have to do is look at the lives of the apostles to realize how faulty that claim is. None of them had overflowing wealth. Often the opposite was true. When Jesus sent them out to minister and spread the ‘good news,’ about His kingdom, He did not give them golden chariots and fine clothing. “He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff – no bread, no bag, no money in their belts …” Mark 6:8

Perhaps it was because they had nothing, they became deeply aware of how rich in “his righteousness” they were. Because they had nothing, they realized they had all they really needed. Because they had nothing, they learned to trust Him to provide it.

Living with that kind of abundance will indeed accomplish what Jesus said He came to do – “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10, ESV)

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Marcia Lee Laycock is a Christian writer/speaker/teacher whose work has been endorsed by Mark Buchanan, Jeanette Oke, Sigmund Brouwer.  Visit her website to learn more.