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It’s nearly impossible right now to get through a day without witnessing the fear, anxiety and suffering that is engulfing the world.
All around us, the proof is there, supported both anecdotally and through data. We are people on the edge, driven by manufactured lies produced by a corrupt set of earthly values.
War, political division, oppression, poverty, hunger, racism. The list is endless.
What’s a person to do? After all, most can't live the life of a hermit. Nor do we want to turn from the world. Faithful people, in fact, are commanded to engage.
First, I suggest that we need to identify that much of the fear, anxiety and suffering in the world is based on the false earthly notion of scarcity. … That there is not enough for everyone. Enough what? … Well, enough of everything.
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Most of our human fears are based on the untrue notions that there is not enough time, not enough food, not enough land, not enough air, not enough water, not enough money, not enough respect, not enough love … for everyone to live and thrive.
And to begin to make a difference in the world’s fears, we have to contrast this earthly notion of “there is not enough” with what God’s Kingdom actually offers us, which is abundance. Overflowing abundance, in fact. Story after story in the Bible tells us so.
The 150-plus gallons of wine at the wedding at Cana; the vineyard owner who pays a day’s wages for just an hour worked; Jesus turning five loaves of bread and two fish into a meal that fed 5,000 … with leftovers! The Bible is full of stories that remind us that we are loved by a God of abundance … in everything.
So the next time you are overwhelmed, whether by the circumstances of the world, or even just your own plight, I suggest that you take a minute to celebrate God’s abundance.
If it seems you’re short on time, remember that in God’s Kingdom it takes as long as it takes. And when earthly concerns have you convinced there is not enough money, food or “stuff” for everyone, remember that God always provides enough for all, and always in abundance. For that is who our God is, a God of abundance!
So many of the current issues that have our world in flames would be doused if we could all trust in Jesus’ words that are readily available to us. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)
Of course, the “thief” in this instance is all of the lies about scarcity that our earthly values teach us.
And the “I” in the scripture is Jesus, the son of God, who came to deliver us not only life, but an abundant life at that.
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Devlyn Brooks, who works for Modulist, a Forum Communications Co.-owned company, is an ordained pastor in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. He serves as pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Wolverton, Minnesota. He can be reached at devlyn.brooks@forumcomm.com for comments and story ideas.
