Abundance Even In the Midst of Want!

“I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10).

Hey Gang:  In an interview, the interviewee, Molly, said, ”It is my belief that the moon is made of green cheese” but the over-hearer heard only, “The moon is made of green cheese” and excitedly wrote a long dissertation on the truth that Molly Gurk said “The moon is made of green cheese.”  But, no one seemed to be interested in who Molly Gurk was, or she knew about green cheese or lunar issues.

Now the media picked up on the story and elevated it to the head line of their local rags and the television talk shows also followed by bringing in twenty- three experts to verify that the moon is most assuredly made of green cheese!  And soon our representatives that we elect and send to the Beltway picked up on this ‘truth’ that the moon is made of Green cheese and pass a law, that said,  ‘All children shall be taught that the moon is made of green cheese.’  Way out, right?  But could we not replace the green cheese analogy with global warming or evolution?

So, what does that have to do with anything.   Let’s look at it in a more realistic sense.  Jesus said, “Careful, My chicks, that you do not be deceived.”  As I read the Word, I find that every time Jesus talks of the end times He begins His teachings with this same warning “Be not deceived”.  He made it very clear that as the Age of the Gentiles come crashing down, deception is going to be much more prevalent than truth.   He even warns that even the very elect will follow the evil one down the Prime Rose Path.

I had occasion recently to hear one of our better known religious orators give a dissertation on placing our hands in the hands of the One who stills the water.  His entire dissertation was centered on the ‘miss truth’ that becoming a Believer assures one of a palace on Nob Hill and perfect health.   I wondered, as I listened to his dissertation that was being held in an arena that houses 30,000 people, what was going through the minds of those who had some type of infirmity or those who have walked the streets seeking a job and could not find one.  How did they feel?

The pastor took great liberties, that I do not believe John had in mind when he wrote, “Beloved, I pray that in all respects you may prosper and be in good health, just as your soul prospers” (3 John 2).   As I have watched the devastating fires in Israel, fires that covered lands that we drove through only one month ago, and fires in Tennessee, that has consumed everything but the land, I prayed for those that lost all that they had accumulated but more so for those whose very lives were tied up in those things.  The Believers, yes, for we do not like to start all over again, but for the non-believers – who they turn for comfort?

So, what did John mean when he wrote, “I pray you will prosper and be in good health!”  We define abundance in our society as having plenty, ample supplies and more than enough.   This Jesus promised when He said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things will be added unto you” (Matt. 6:33).   He promises to meet our needs.  By world standards we, here in America, even on the dole are blessed.   We have no comprehension of what need and hunger are all about.

In Romans 8:11 we find a different kind of abundance, “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you”.

God has blessed me and my bride with more than we need in worldly possessions.  We are thankful for that, but our joy is in the abundant love of our Lord and Savior and have total trust that he will care for us in the good times as well as the hard time.  I close with one of my very favorite verses found in Malachi 3:10-11. 

Malachi begins by setting the table for what is to come in verse 8: “Will a man rob God?   Yet you are robbing Me!  But how are we robbing You?”  In tithes and offerings”.  Malachi then goes on to tell us how we can rectify that sin against the Father: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open for you he windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”

Don’t quit yet, the best is yet to come!  “Then, I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that It will not destroy the fruits of the ground, nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes.’  Says the Lord of hosts”.

And that my friends you can take to the bank!

Blessings,

Gramps