Abundantly part 2
Living life to the fullest is about living out of your abundance. I think this is important because, what's that old saying? "We spend money we don't have on things we don't need to impress people that don't matter." Something like that. And you know I think people are about the only thing that does matter, but that's not the point. The point is. sometimes it seems like we think what we're doing isn't enough. So we try to over reach, and end up over extending ourselves. And that's a problem. Let me try to say it another way: "And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then? He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise" (Luke 3:10-11). And I always liken this to the idea that when you're on an airplane and something happens, they tell you to put your own oxygen mask on first, right? Because you can't help anybody if you're laying on the ground unconscious. Its no good to give up your only coat and then freeze to death. Give away your last bite of food and then starve. And, listen, there is a story in the Bible where the Elijah asked for the last of a woman's food (1 Kings chapter 17) but that was in order to perform a miracle for her. A test of faith, if I can say it that way. But what I'm talking about today is how to live that full and satisfying life that is the abundant, everlasting, eternal, Resurrection Life of Jesus. HIS life of love. And the way we do that is not by chasing something, and not by doing more than we can. If you're getting to the place of fulness... you don't need to go past that. Ephesians 4:1 in the English Standard Version says, "I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called." Now, link that up with what we saw yesterday about how the power working in us equips and empowers us to GIVE and to DO exceeding abundantly above all we could ask or think. I'm not saying you should limit yourself. I think if we did all of the things we were capable of doing we would astonish ourselves. And each other. I'm saying don't try to be someone you're not. Don't try to do something you weren't called to do. Be YOU to the very best of your ability. But don't try to be anybody else. Walk worthy of YOUR calling. Not somebody else's. Don't worry if people can do things you can't. Because you can do things they can't. And both what they can do AND what you can do are necessary. So live out of YOUR abundance. Give what YOU'VE got. Don't wreck yourself trying to give too much, or do too much, but realize that you can do what you were put here to do. And, in a Word, what you were put here to do is... love. You can reach people in a unique way. You can't--and don't need to--reach everybody. But some people are in YOUR path for a reason. So be who you are. Love without discrimination or condition. Don't worry about what you haven't got. Share what you have got. Don't worry about what you can't do. Do what you can do. Be who you are. All the way. Do what you do because its in your heart to do it. Because love made you do it. Love others, and in that way experience the love that makes this life abundant!