Abundance

Today’s Scripture Selection: John 10:10

“The thief comes only to steal and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

When is enough – enough?

When do you have enough money; enough friendship; enough love; enough power; enough respect; enough – anything?

I suppose if you were to ask 100 different people, from all walks of life, those questions – you’d come up with 100 different answers.

But one thing is clear. Most of us spend more time than we should be pondering the answers to those questions.

It seems to me that in our society – a society in which many of us have so much – it is something of a national obsession: deciding when we will have “enough” to be happy.

Then, Jesus’ words come hauntingly back to us:

“I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”

For the Christ-follower, abundance shouldn’t be defined by the size of our bank account or the title on our office door or the power we wield in our personal or professional lives.

Abundance is all about a life that is the fullest it can be, because of how close we are to God.

Abundance is all about living a life full of trust in God’s abiding providential grace – not how good or bad our “balance sheet” looks on any given day.

Abundance is about looking at our family life; our chosen vocation; our prayer life; our ability to serve others in Christ’s name; our opportunities to give God glory in so many ways – every single day – and seeing in those things how we are living life “to the full.”

Abundance isn’t about “sitting pretty” as the world defines it; it’s about a daily walk with God in which we experience, over and over again, His amazing grace.

How much is enough? You’ll have to answer that one for yourself.

But for me – God’s ever present; ever abundant love is enough – more than enough.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank you for your truly amazing; truly abundant love. AMEN.

By Paul Simrell

The Reverend Paul W. Simrell has served for over thirty years in a variety of congregational and institutional settings. He is a recognized minister with standing in the Virginia region of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in the United States and Canada and is nationally endorsed by the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) for specialized ministry in both pastoral counseling and chaplaincy. Ordained in 1982, he has served congregations in Kentucky, Texas, Florida, and Virginia. He currently serves as the pastor of Elpis Christian Church, a small, historic congregation located just a few miles west of Richmond, Virginia. Elpis is the Greek word meaning “expectant hope.” He also serves on the associate clinical staff of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care, Richmond, Virginia, both as a pastoral counselor and a ministerial assessment specialist, specializing in executive, clergy and relationship coaching. He is a graduate of the University of Florida and Lexington Theological Seminary and has done advanced clinical training in chaplaincy and pastoral counseling at the University of Kentucky Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky, Children’s Medical Center and Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas and the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care in Richmond, Virginia. He is a Certified Pastoral Counselor, an ACPE Practitioner, and a member of the American Association of Christian Counselors. He is a Certified Facilitator of the Prepare-Enrich relationship assessment and skills-building program and served as a volunteer chaplain for over twenty years with the CJW Medical Center campuses in Richmond, Virginia. His avocational interests include playing the piano and drawing. He is very happily married to his wife Elizabeth Yeamans Simrell, a free-lance writer, who is also a Certified Facilitator for the Prepare-Enrich program. Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton

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