When Jesus declared that He came so that you may have life and have life more abundantly, to what was he referring? Now, if you are living a life that is the envy of your friends, you may wonder why this post. You believe that you know what Jesus was talking about because you are living it. Nobody needs to talk to you about abundant life. Allow me to congratulate you.
However, I ask that you spare a thought for your Christian friends whose lives no one can possibly envy. For them, living from day to day is a constant struggle. And yet you know that they are genuine believers. What could be wrong that they are not enjoying the promise? Before we jump to wrong conclusions, like Job’s friends, that it must be a result of secret sin, we pause.
You recall that God was angry with Job’s friends and we most definitely don’t want to incur the anger of God. As we pause, we ask ourselves other questions to allow us to reach a better judgment. For example, we want to know if the abundant life really consists in the abundance of one’s possessions. Is it the number of exotic cars you own or the number of million-dollar mansions you have built?
An Abundant Life Is Not Equal To Abundant Possessions.
Is that the reason you may have life more abundantly? The answer is no. If you doubt this, go and ask those millionaires who have to take Zoloft every six hours. Jesus Himself said so. Your life does not consist in the abundance of the things you possess. This means that you can have several houses, many cars, lands, and businesses and still not be living well.
Oh, you may be living rich. But that promise that you may have life more abundantly is appearing more elusive by the day. Nevertheless, the world still envies you even though you very well know your own pain. That, in spite of the attractive appearance, the life you are living is far from enviable. Or, to cast it in scriptural phraseology, the heart knows its own bitterness.
That is because you do not measure the abundant life by the number of things you possess. Don’t get me wrong, it is useful to possess stuff but they do not guarantee an abundant life. You may have life more abundantly when you live life to the fullest. Indeed, some versions of the bible render our key passage as living life to the fullest.
You May Have Life More Abundantly Only In God’s Presence
And since fullness only exists in the Presence of God, a full life can only exist in God’s Presence. Which means that a man may be materially poor and live life to the fullest. Just as a materially wealthy man may be living the exact opposite of abundance as he wets his pillows with tears night after night. Or, he might have consumed so much of his material wealth that he has become a cash-cow for doctors. Anytime they need money, they suggest another surgery on his protruding belly.
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The summary is that regardless of your material wealth – great or small – you may have life more abundantly. This is the reason that suicide rates among the poor are not higher than among the rich. Your enjoyment of an abundant life does not rest with your bank account. It rests with how much of the Presence of God you are enjoying.
Actually, when we equate the size and number of possessions with the abundant life, we do ourselves a disservice. First, we look up to those who have material wealth as though their Christianity were better. Secondly, we despise the poor as though they had an inferior version of Christianity. And yet God warns us against despising the poor. Finally, we keep striving for greater and greater wealth, instead of settling firmly into God’s Presence.
Additionally, We Do God An Injustice.
Jesus said he came that you may have life more abundantly not that you will have abundant possessions. As believers, we put words in God’s mouth and this is not the only instance. Have you, for example, heard someone reading Psalm 37:4? Here are the words that they are looking at. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.” However, these are the words that come out of their mouths. “Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall grant you the desires of your heart.”
Did you spot the difference? God says He will give us the desires of our hearts. Meanwhile, we accuse Him of failing to deliver on His promise of granting the desires of our hearts. That is not His promise at all. You know, if you have been delighting yourself in the Lord, that He drops some desires into your heart. And He does this seemingly out of nowhere.
That is God giving you the things your heart should desire. He is busy fulfilling His promise and we are busy accusing Him. All because we regularly put words in His mouth. There are several other examples but these two should suffice to make the point.
You may have life more abundantly if you learn to dwell in the presence of God. It does not matter how wealthy or poor you are. If the abundant life depended on material wealth, you will not have a multi-billionaire commit suicide. He did when he lost one of his six billion dollars during the recession. Are you dwelling securely in God’s presence? Then you may have life more abundantly.
Maranatha!
This write-up describes what happened in a Pentecostal church in the early 2000s that put many of his Church members in jail. He preached prosperity gospel, measured his members’ appearance and happiness on their earthly possessions. In the end, those that appeared blessed went to jail for fraud; some quickly went back to Nigeria to avoid jail. We found later that they had been involved in fraudulent practices to show off in the church. Woe unto prosperity preachers for they shall suffer the wrath of God.
What a pity for those members. If they knew Whom they had believed, perhaps it would have turned out different