{"id":599,"date":"2011-07-24T09:00:18","date_gmt":"2011-07-24T14:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.barbdahlgren.com\/?p=599"},"modified":"2011-07-23T18:55:06","modified_gmt":"2011-07-23T23:55:06","slug":"the-abundant-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/?p=599","title":{"rendered":"The Abundant Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/a>\"\"<\/a>Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that he came so we might have life and have it more abundantly. What is this more abundant life Jesus spoke of?\u00a0 Is it having robust health?\u00a0 Is it materialism and wealth?\u00a0 Is it success, power, and prestige?\u00a0 After all, aren’t these the things most people yearn for and naturally associate with an “abundant life?”\u00a0 Well, that may be our interpretation of a more abundant life, but our view and God’s view could be vastly different. (Isaiah 55:9)<\/p>\n

Many think the more abundant life spoken of in John 10:10 pertains to great prosperity physically, mentally, spiritually, and materially.\u00a0 Some “health and wealth” or “name it and claim it” gospels want us to come boldly before God and demand the abundance he has promised us.\u00a0 Faith is measured by how much God blesses us materially.\u00a0 But do new cars, million dollar homes, plasma TVs, diamonds, rubies,\u00a0private air planes or bags of money\u00a0really draw us closer to God?\u00a0<\/p>\n

God is not the big “sugar daddy” in the sky ready to give us everything we want.\u00a0 We may prayerfully sing, “Oh Lord won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?” and we might get it, but that doesn’t mean God gave it to us.\u00a0 And it definitely has nothing to do with the more abundant life Jesus refers to in John 10:10.<\/p>\n

Most know the primary focus of the Christian life should not be on getting things. That doesn’t necessarily mean God wants us to be poverty stricken, although Proverbs tells us, “Better is a dinner of herbs where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith.\u201d (Proverbs 15:15\u201317)\u00a0 It would be difficult to find scriptures that focus on Christians “getting” instead of “giving.”\u00a0 The Bible leans more towards contentment than wanting more, more, more. (1 Timothy 6:8, 9; Philippians 4:11-13; Hebrews 13:5)<\/p>\n

In fact Jesus said that a man’s life does not consist of the abundance of the things he might possess. (Luke 12:15)\u00a0 If we seek first the kingdom of God we won’t have to be overly concerned about such matters. (Matthew 6:31-33)\u00a0 If we humble ourselves before him, he will exalt us when the time is right. (1 Peter 5:6-7)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

I’m not saying an abundant life precludes wealth, health, or worldly success, but it does not depend on it either.\u00a0 Paul knew this better than anyone.\u00a0 He knew how to be abased or exalted, have a full tummy or an empty one, and abound or suffer \u2013 and through it all be content and give thanks.\u00a0 (Philippians 4:11-13; Ephesians 5:20)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In other words, we can experience the abundant life even if we are going through trials with a family,\u00a0dealing with a health crisis, poor as a church mouse,\u00a0or at the bottom of the work force food chain.\u00a0 John 10:10 is not speaking of prosperity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sometimes we read into the scripture what really isn’t there.\u00a0 John 10:10 tells us the reason Jesus came was so we could have life (eternal life, everlasting life, life without fear of death).\u00a0 The phrase “more abundantly” is the Greek word “perissos” meaning “beyond, more, and above measure.”\u00a0 It refers back to the word “life.”\u00a0 Not only did Jesus come to give us eternal life, but even more than that, he lives his life within us right now.\u00a0 His very presence in us adds something immeasurable to our existence.\u00a0 He is what makes our life worth living in spite of how much money we have in the bank.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

If we read the whole passage of John 10 closely we see it’s about Jesus being our\u00a0shepherd, we\u00a0sheep hearing his voice, and Jesus being our\u00a0open door.\u00a0\u00a0The whole context is referring to us having access to God. \u00a0And that, my friend, is what the more abundant life is all about.\u00a0 Not only do we get eternal life but as an added bonus we have the opportunity to build a relationship with Jesus Christ \u2013 the very one who makes it all possible.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Our lives are richer because Jesus is a part of our lives.\u00a0 If we actively live our lives to the glory of God, our lives will be rewarding.\u00a0 We don’t have to be stressed or filled with fear.\u00a0 We can have a peace that passes understanding because we trust God.\u00a0 He has it all handled.\u00a0 That doesn’t mean there won’t be illness, sadness or danger, but it does mean God is with us through it all.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Man views abundance in terms of physical possessions.\u00a0 God has a different perspective.\u00a0 His abundant life is filled with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control, compassion, humility, character, wisdom, enthusiasm, dignity, optimism, confidence, honesty, and a relationship with him.\u00a0 In other words, the more abundant life is full of all the things money can\u2019t buy. \u00a0No matter how much money you have, you cannot buy more patience, wisdom, hope, self-control, or salvation!<\/p>\n

<\/a>Money cannot buy us a “more abundant” life, but God can give it to us if we let him enter into our lives.\u00a0 The more we open our hearts to God, the more abundant our lives will be.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jesus tells us in John 10:10 that he came so we might have life and have it more abundantly. What is this more abundant life Jesus spoke of?\u00a0 Is it having robust health?\u00a0 Is it materialism and wealth?\u00a0 Is it … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/599\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/barbdahlgren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}