Life Abundant

 Abundant living is referred to by Wikipedia as fullness of life. When I think of fullness of life I think of things that bring me life, things like the ocean, running, watching a sun rise/set, lying in a hammock and other things that inspire and fill me up with life. Life is a gift from God and so things that remind me of God are the things that also fill me with life to the fullest. The Bible says that God gives life and that He gives it abundantly, meaning to the fullest extent, this is His gift to us and He wants us to walk in the fullness of life and to live in an abundant state of life. Not abundant in material possession or money but abundant in things that give life.

When God teaches me a lesson on something more often than not He will give me contrasting situations where I experience and learn about the same thing in very reverse methods. The past few days I had a tremendous privilege of taking 7 of our youth away for the weekend to a remote retreat center. We had a beautiful building with a great big long table to enjoy “family” meal’s together, great big open spaces to run around play in and pitch tents, forests to hike in, ponds to skip rock’s in, tree’s to climb. We experienced making homemade bow and arrows, roasting marshmallows, playing sardines and man hunt and bogie ball. The kid’s got to experience sleeping in a tent for the first time, barbecuing, climbing tree’s, lying in a hammock and listening to the coyotes howl. The laughter and fun we had this weekend reached its finest, enjoying such simple and wholesome activities while playing hard was so refreshing. Climbing through windows, drinking hot chocolate before breakfast, water fights, furniture tag, rock throwing competitions and barrel rolling down a hill were good reminders to relax and to not take everything so serious. Teaching and modeling for the kid’s this kind of freedom in experience fun, nature and life was so rewarding, it was living life fullest.

This was met quickly with the very contrasting side of the lesson. Life can be robbed of its abundance far too easily. I believe the devil comes to steal to kill and to ultimately destroy and this can often begin with our joy or our sense of an abundant life. We get robbed of simplicity, of contentment and of enjoyment. Upon my return to the city I was met with such a life, one that had been drained of life, of true living and contentment. It was not only life sucking to be around but leaves little to be desired or enjoyed. A person can live but lack real living, a person can have a good life but lack true abundant living in the joy, contentment and simplicity of the life Christ gives. Life that doesn't need to compete or fight to get ahead, that can value above all else bring life to others and to take time to live recklessly free of the burdens and pressure of this world.

Life abundant to me means cultivating hobbies, creativity and imagination. To explore and to enjoy the things that God has made. To treasure and rejoice in relationships, to recognize in full the One of whom all these things come from and to life in such abundance that others would find such a life as well.