John 10:7-10
So Jesus said to them again, “I tell you the solemn truth, I am the door for the sheep. All who came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me, he will be saved, and will come in and go out, and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
What is abundant living? If we were to listen to modern day preaching of the word of God, we surely would be led to believe that it is our right to name it and claim it, that if we were to come upon hard times, that there is something spiritually wrong with us, that if we are not living the “blessed” life, there is certainly something wrong with our faith and our walk in Christ.
And certainly, I once believed this myself. I gave my money as a “seed” expecting God to send me more money. I wanted to be wealthy so I can help others and be able to give to others and be a blessing to others. I wanted the American dream and to be a good christian as well. Were not the two things really one? If I gained the wealth by pursuing happiness, sowing and investing-am I not doing what God commanded me to do? If I sought to be better than my neighbor and to outshine the Jones or to keep up and outshine the neighbor- isn’t that living the abundant life?
Sadly, no matter which way we turn this teaching, it is certainly a tainted truth. As it was in the garden of Eden, when the deceiver twisted God’s word by inserting the little word “not”- so it is today. The tactics and strategy are the same. Why- you may ask? Because even in the 21st century, where we have all these creature comforts, the hearts and souls and minds of men and women remain essentially the same. We have strayed from God and would like to make our own way back to Him. But no matter what our efforts may be, the Word remains clear- Jesus Christ is the door.
And as the door, we must enter in through Him. But wait-for many Christians you may ask- haven’t I done all that I am doing so that I may please Him? Consider this- in order to live the abundant live- we have to enter the door- Christ. And you say- old news- I have done that. And in addition to that you say- all the wealth that I have accumulated is to glorify God.
STOP- God did not say wealth= abundance. The word abundance comes from the Greek word “huperperissos’ meaning “more than, exceedingly or extreme, beyond all measure”. but the context of this scripture must be read in the light of the scripture before and after. The previous words speak of a thief-the one who came to steal, to kill or slaughter or to sacrifice and to destroy. While all these words appear to be synonymous, they are are a description of the enemy of spiritual selves. His attacks are commonly manifests into our thinking, our beliefs, our culture and our physical and communal lives. “As he (a man) thinks in his heart, so is he” Prov 23:7 (NKJV).
In order to understand abundance- we need to first see the condition that created the vacuum. Where we were once measured and limited by our circumstances, our station, our position – when we walk through the Door- washed in the blood of the sacrificed Lamb of God- we are walking into a life without measure. How dare we limit ourselves to abundant life as “wealth” and being “blessed”? Christ did not walk through this life displaying wealth or being “blessed” as is on display today. Ask ourselves the simple yet complex questions-
- Am I hearing the Word of God or the interpretation of the Word by men?
- Am I truly glorifying God in my being, my mind, my soul?
- Am I entangled in a web of false expectations…am I being deceived?
If Christ is the Door, we can
- Only live beyond measure in Him
- Beyond measure is not about wealth or riches- it is about your soul and spirit
- And while, it is good to have food on your table and shelter and a few creature comforts- remember this- it is not only what we have and what we gain materially and physically that matters- it is what we gain spiritually through our relationship with Christ that matters. This we can freely give away …. it costs nothing to speak about God ….except it can cost us everything…. our losing of self, our imaginary props and foolish things that so easily beguile us from the true abundance- Christ Himself and His Kingdom.
CASTIN-GRACE 