Abundant Life

Recently CNN.com had an article about how economic concerns are on the minds of voters. The article reported that 48% of voters polled now consider the economy to be the deciding factor in who they vote for in November. Given the current economy it's understandable why this is in the forefront of so many people's minds. We have faced a record breaking year in many ways with little of those records being positive things. There's been concern over the decreasing value of homes, questions about the stability of banks, and gas prices have affected many people's routines. It seems like everything is costing more these days. Gas is expensive, electricity is expensive, and those two things have affect the prices of many things, including travel plans, shipping costs, etc.

It certainly is understandable that so many people are keeping an eye on the market and are worried about the economy. It is a concern that affects many Christians as well. As I read the article on CNN.com I kept thinking about how Jesus said "I came that they may have life and have it abundantly" (John 10:10). Abundant life! Jesus promises us abundant life. But what exactly does that mean?

Many Christians have used this verse to preach a prosperity gospel. Basically they claim that if you life faithfully and pray hard then God will bless you with monetary rewards. But can that really be what this verse is about? It seems to me that it is unlikely that Jesus would promise something he himself doesn't have. So if we are going to look for clues about what it means to have abundantly life, it seems reasonable to start by looking at Jesus' life.

Jesus didn't have a lot of material stuff. In fact he was pretty poor. He was born in a stable. He tells a would-be disciple that he has no place to lay his head ie. no house. He repeatedly warns against the rich, and how easy it is to make money the God of our life. He even tells a rich young ruler to go and sell all he has and give it to the poor. It is really quite unlikely that Jesus was rich.

So if Jesus wasn't rich, what is exactly is abundant life? One of the things we see time and time again in all the gospels, is the close and intimate relationship Jesus has with the Father. He is constantly praying to the Father, he even says he can do nothing apart from the Father. Even in his last moments in the garden of Gethsemane he prays that the Father's will be done. If Jesus has nothing else, he had a close relationship with the Father.

It seems to me that if we are going to have a conversation about abundant life, we need to start with Jesus' relationship with God. Jesus offers us what he already has. Jesus offers us a close intimate relationship with God. Jesus isn't promising that we are going to have an abundance of economic means. Jesus isn't promising us an abundance of material possessions and wealth. Instead Jesus promises that we know the abundance of life lived in relationship with God. We will know what it means to love and to be loved. We will know what it means to live into the image of God in each of us. Abundant life is so much more than money.

That doesn't mean that the economy will not be a high priority in the election in november. Nor does it mean that we don't need to be concerned about the poor. But it does mean that regardless of how the economy turns out, regardless of how the election turns out, we have the promise of abundant life. We have the promise of a fruitful and full life live in relationship with God.

Now that's a promise we can trust!