I have an abundance...but it is not always an abundance of the good stuff! I have an abundance of selfishness, an abundance or frustrations, an abundance of temptation and sin. I want less of all these things, but it seems that I am in a life-long struggle against the distractions of self.When I was a young believer, the churches I was in often sang a song that had four verses. The first verse was "All of self and none of Thee." But by the end of the song, the lyrics moved to "None of self and all of Thee." This is the journey of every disciple of Jesus. In more recent times, we sing another song where one of the lines is, "You are my all in all." And in the song , "Have Thine Own Way, Lord," the final line is, "Christ, only, always, living in me."
One theologian deftly wrote,
If our Christian lives ever caught up with lyrics in the songs we sing, the world would be forever transformed.Probably true!
So how do I reduce the abundance of me and increase the abundance of Christ in my life? The surest way is to engage in meeting the needs of others as I give my influence, finances, time and service. In our 40-Day Journey Workbook for today, Sheree includes this quote:
Personal development coach Chuck Galazzi has said, "...it is true; if we give we will have less. Less selfishness, less suspicion, less guilt, less remorse, less attachment to the unimportant. But we will also have more."I think Galazzi is dead on. The more I give, the more I have of what matters. Jesus modeled this for us as he lived out his own words in John 10:1-17. He came to give us abundant life (verse 10), but that came at the expense of his own life as he laid down his life for us.
This is the journey. Instead of thinking first about who is needy and whether or not they should receive any help, my first concern must be how too much of me is getting in the way of my life with Christ. Giving to others is a way of freeing myself.
- Don McLaughlin
