2-1-2018

Good Morning All,

           John 10:10b, “I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.”

     What are some things that are abundant in your life?  What do we have that is lavished on us?  Those can be tough questions.  Most of us would be slow to answer these questions.  What do we have abundantly?  Maybe it is the beauty of nature around us.  Maybe we would say it is in the peace and quiet that we live in.  But would we say that we live life abundantly?  We tend to think in small terms.  We tend to see things in small increments.  We tend to think that God gives us what we need and only what we need.  But Scriptures tell us something entirely different.  We are told that we receive the gifts lavishly and abundantly.

     In this verse Jesus is telling his disciples that we may have life and have it abundantly.  That is quite a statement but what does it mean?  What does it mean to have it abundantly?  It is interesting how throughout Scriptures we read different phrases that describe the life that God wants for us.  It is called abundant, we are lavished by God’s gift; it is poured out on us; we receive it generously; among others but we can see what we have.  But what does that mean to us?

    I write these the night before, so I don’t know how any of the elections will end.  By the time you read this, hopefully; the dust will have settled.  No matter who wins or loses; we are God’s redeemed children and we will always have abundant life.  Yet it always seems as though we live as though we don’t.  Too often, we live as a morose group of people.  No one should ever be happier than we are.  We have the certainty of salvation given to us.  We don’t have to go work for it; it is given to us.  We have been given life and we have it abundantly.

    God blesses us as his children at every turn.  Even when we think we are missing it; it is all around us.  God gives to us the love of family, of Christian brothers and sisters, the love of the church, the comfort of the Gospel in all its forms, the written, the spoken and the Gospel which we take in through the sacraments.  We have abundant life, so let’s live like it.

    God gives us life and he gives us the gifts of this life abundantly.  We have more than we can ever measure.  The devil will always try to convince you that you don’t have that much and you don’t have near as much as your neighbor.  Then the devil will try to convict you with the fear that God doesn’t love you.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.  God shows his love for us through the cross and the empty tomb.  God continues to show us that love through the Holy Spirit building the church and keeping it safe.  We live in the lap of God the Father.  We have the gift of abundant life so go out and enjoy it.  Live a life of happiness and contentment in God’s lap.  Receive his gifts and enjoy.

Dear Father in heaven, you lavishly pour out your Spirit on us.  You give us life and give it abundantly.  Help us to see it, to live it and to enjoy it as a gift from you.  We ask you to continue to shower us with your gifts and guide us to share those gifts with those around us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret