Living The Abundant Life

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“I came that they might have life and have it abundantly” John 10:10

For two years, my husband, son and I lived in one of the wealthiest areas of the world, Lugano, Switzerland. We fondly called it “Switzaly” because its language and culture was totally Italian. It is a place rich with beauty, nestled in the foothills of the Alps on a pristine lake. And it is a land full of extremely rich people. It is not uncommon for some to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on their cars. Women wear the largest diamonds I’ve ever seen on their ears, hands, around their necks, and even in their belly buttons! They shop until they drop, worshipping Gucci and Prada. They have an abundance of things and yet seem so very empty.

The word, abundant conjures up thoughts of something overflowing in sufficiency. If we have abundant health, we have more vitality and energy than we can possibly use. If we have abundant wealth, we cannot outspend or out-give our resources. If we have abundant relationships, our life is overflowing with people who know and love us. As humans, we want abundant lives…we crave them. As Christians we actually already have them. Like a hidden gem not yet polished, we sometimes miss the value of the treasures God has stored up for those who love Him.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived  what God has prepared for those who love him"— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. 1 Corinthians 2:9

The moment we come to believe that Jesus is truly the only way to be saved and have intimacy with the Living God; we become co-heirs with Him for all eternity. We have all we need to live complete, joyful, and purposeful lives. Yet, our “abundant life” does not look like the life that our culture would have you believe we need to be happy. Today…fame, fortune, beauty and power are the things most people crave. They crave them only because the holes in their hearts are not yet filled with Christ’s abundance. They know no other way.

But what about those of us who know Christ, yet are not celebrating the abundance He promises? It seems too many are saved without victory – victory to live abundantly despite their circumstances. How can this be? It is because their focus is on the values of the world (that world we are told not to conform to in Romans 12:2) rather than on renewing their minds and worshipping God for all He has provided.

During our time in Lugano, we drove our little “Honda Jazz”, wore our Levi’s jeans and ate pizza in the little pizzerias because we could not justify or afford to spend over two hundred francs on dinner for three. It was very hard to pay our sky high gasoline and utility bills. And yet we knew that our simple little life was so much more abundant than the richest of the rich in Lugano. If only they knew our Jesus…they could be truly rich also and know what Jesus means when He says, “I came that they might have life and have it abundantly”.

My Thanksgiving Prayer:

Dear Heavenly Father,
I know in my mind that you have already given me all I need to live a truly abundant life. Please help me to remember this and truly believe it in my soul when I get distracted by the world and its values. I love you and want to honor you with a heart of gratitude and contentment.

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