Abundantly part 1
The thing we seem to miss out on when we focus so much on the afterlife is that Jesus came to give us LIFE. Look at John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." And notice that its not just life... its abundant life. The kind of life described in Ephesians 3:20, "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us." Because the power that worketh in us, the power that has equipped and empowered us to live this life that Jesus came to give us... is love. What makes the abundant life abundant... is love. And look at John 10:10 in the NLT, "The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life." Living life to the fullest. And I'm sure you've heard the phrase (or the song), "Live like you were dying." I'm ok with that. Don't put things off. Do what you were put here to do. But I like this one even better, "Live like you were going to live forever." Build things that last. And by that I mean build RELATIONSHIPS that last. Because at the end of the day its not good for man to be alone. Its not good to have stuff but nobody to share it with. Because, like I always say, love IS giving. You can give without loving, right? But you can't love without giving. So you need someone to share it with. To share your life with. And I'm not necessarily talking about a romantic partner. There's a lot that goes with that, and when its right it can be really really right. But I'm talking about the connections we make with all of the people we come across. Even those people that seem really hard to love. Because, I'm telling you, those people need love the most. Because they aren't getting it anywhere else. And I'm telling you, when you love THOSE people... well, if the best way to feel love is to love someone, then there's not much better than loving the "unloveable." That kind of sacrificial love where you lay your life down--where you give everything you have and everything you are without exception or expectation--that kind of love will blow somebody's doors off. That kind of love will change somebody's world. Especially when they see love around them but aren't getting any themselves. And to me, sharing that kind of love is a life worth living. That sounds like a rich and satisfying life. So when we think about Epshesians 3:20, maybe we don't think about GETTING more than we could ask or think. Mabye we think about GIVING more than we could ask or think. DOING more than we could ask or think. Maybe instead of being self-centered we start to become Christ-centered, or people-centered. We start to understand that we already have it all, and we start giving instead of trying to get. We start to live abundantly, out of our abundance. Giving what we've got. Giving it away. Sharing it, and in that way truly experiencing it!