Abundance is such a great word, eh? When people say abundance I always think of an enormous harvest where it seems like the workers toil for days and there is no end in sight of piles of grain. So I did a quick look, abundance draws its roots from the same meaning as 'plentiful' or 'exuberance' and really describe a total fullness, a lacking for nothing, or complete satisfaction to the point of excess. It denotes plenty at the highest degree, to the point where the containment devices are bursting at the seem to hold it in. How great of a picture is that? The word cannot even describe how plentiful the situation is. To say someone has an abundance is saying a lot then, still even more to say that a Christian/Church has abundance.
I would argue that Abundance has a two fold impact on the life of Christians (I'm sure there are more but for the sake of this blog I shall proceed with only two). The first is the Christian's pursuit of abundance. Now that's a packed statement and many questions leap forward immediately: A Christian should seek abundance? Aren't we supposed to live moderatly? Shouldn't we avoid amassing possessions? let me define what "abundance" means for Christians. In John 10, Jesus tells us that he came so that we might live life and "live it abundantly." In the context of John 10, Christ is referring to not only life on earth but eternal life, the gift of salvation. Jesus is saying here that the Christian life is not only of passive participation or of a bare megerance existence. No matter what form abundance might take (there are numerous examples of financial abundance blessings (ref. Gen. 24:35 for an example), abundance of comfort (2 Cor. 1:5), joy (2 Cor. 8:2), love (2 Cor. 2:4), faith (2 Thess. 1:3), etc.), God desires that we are not passive in our pursuit of the blessings that he gives. (There is a very large difference between financial abundance and spiritual abundance but given the scope of this blog, I shall bypass that discussion. For ref. read Randy Alcorn's 'The Treasure Principle'.)
Now one question continually keeps coming up in my mind: why? Why does God 'abundantly' bless us? He doesn't have to, he could simply give us 'enough' joy, or 'enough' peace, or 'enough' resources; why does he have to give us so much that it exceeds plenty? The
simple go to answer is that it illustrates the generous nature of God, that God does not simply what us to be convinced of his goodness but to be overwhelmed by it. I love the passage in Ephesians where Paul states: "Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask." In fact, Ephesians itself is abounding with illustrations of the depth of God's blessings and how he desires to pour them out. Furthermore, Romans 11:22 says "Oh the depths of the riches and wisdome and knowledge of God" which literally means that Paul could not see the bottom of the vast canyon that containted them. But I think that the answer doesn't end there but has practical implications to the life of a believer.God gives to us out of his abundance so that we can give to others out of ours. Paul in 2 Corinthians 8:13-14 says "For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness." In the context, the Corinthians did not lack for material possessions. Their financial and physical needs had been met and Paul was encouraging to give generously because of the great abundance that God had blessed them with. What could the the Corinthians have been blessed out of the abundance of others if they were already materially blessed? Reading through Corinthians it becomes quickly apparent of the blarring needs of the ministry: comfort, joy, victory over sin, encouragement, assurance, etc. Paul himself provides an excellent example that drew joy and strength out of the abundance that other churches had in any number of areas. Almost all of his epistles being with him stating the joy and thanksgiving that fills his heart at the thought of their spiritual abundance (ref. Phil 1:2-11 as an example). The answer to the question must be that God abundantly bless us so that we in turn might illustrate God's great love to others by then pouring out that same blessing on them. So what does this mean for us as Christians? It means that we cannot live in isolation from other fellowships of believers. We cannot hord the abundance that God has given to us, in whatever form, under the guise of the autonomy of the local church or because of petty, inconsequential denominational differences. How contrary to God's plan for us that some continue living in abundance and blessing of spiritual fruit and are reserved in their willingness to pour that same abundance out. It's becoming increasingly easy to write a cheque for some churches, God desires more. How can we as a Christian body bless each other through our abundance?
