Living From Abundance

from Jeff

Last night Eli asked me if he had enough toys. Eli has more toys than I would have ever imagined a child of mine would have. He has more toys than most kids on the earth could imagine. Of course, I didn't tell him any of that. I just said he had enough.

I was reminded how we often ask that same question...is this enough? We think about what else we could have. We often approach life from a place of lack rather than abundance.

The last post asked the question - what are we missing. There are times when our "lack" list can be quite long. We can easily see what we are missing. We can imagine how life would be better if we had this or that.

The danger is that our minds get focused on what's lacking so much that we miss what is good around us. At church we can pay attention to who is not there and miss who is. We can focus on what is not top quality and miss the great things going on behind the scenes. We can wish for this or that, and forget to be thankful for what is right next to us.

This kind of negativity is like a virus. It spreads and grows over time. It attacks the heart and mind. It makes us think the grass is greener elsewhere, when it's just really more work. It keeps us from being thankful and loving.

I'm privileged in my position here to know some of the amazing stories going on behind the scenes at DBC. I meet amazing servants of God - people like the Benevolence volunteers and Coordinator who serve 300 families and more individuals who need food or rent each year. I see how each dollar that is dropped in the offering plate literally extends the reach of every person in the pews around the world - from the US (Durango, Miami, Virginia), to Canada, down to Honduras and Ecuador, over to Jamaica to help pay for college educations, to Haiti where we support a local pastor, across the ocean to Senegal where evangelist Abba Diatta reaches villages with the gospel, down to Liberia where Jesse and Calandra Togbadoya are bringing hope, up to the Middle East where Muslims are being reached in increasing numbers through innovative media ministries, to Tajikistan (look that one up on the globe!), to India where young pastors prepare to bring the good news to those who have never heard it, up to the Ukraine where pastors are trained and are training others, to Berlin where a former Buddhist monk shares how Christ has set him free from the burden of reaching nirvana on his own, to Arpajon France where a small church pastor seeks to bring the light of Christ to a darkening nation.

These stories just scratch the surface. I haven't even listed the 40 or so local ministries that you help to support. I haven't told you the stories of those returning from one week mission trips and how God has opened their eyes to His work around the world.

What are we missing? We probably could all list some things. I can. But, the truth is, whatever I think I'm missing, I probably already have if I just thought about it. If it's preaching or teaching, I can get that on the internet. If it's relationships, then I can change that on my own by reaching out to other people.

My conversation that morning more or less ended up with remembering that nothing is holding us back from experiencing what we want. There is no need to wait on the staff or the organization to get with our program. Sure, people may leave over such things - and they have. We know that. Still, the Spirit of God lives in each believer. So, go out and do what you think others should be providing.

Does this mean we can't improve? Of course we can. What it does mean is that we need not focus on what we think we're lacking. That won't get us where we want to go. Lifting up the name of Christ and giving thanks will.

There is much to celebrate and give thanks for. Lives are changing here, around Atlanta and around the world because of Christ in the hearts of DBC folk. God is at work. And, like in all our lives, we need not live from lack when we actually have so much.

Now I have to go clean up a bunch of toys...