Grace and peace be
yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
2 Peter 1:2
What exactly do you say abundance is? “It’s a lot”—sure; “it’s
more than enough”—certainly, but you can do better. “It’s overflowing; it’s bountiful;
it’s opulent”—all good synonyms. How about “plethora”? That’s one I love; it
means superabundance. Personally I think of abundance as dark chocolate oozing
over peppermint-stick ice cream.
God’s view of abundance is a little holier than mine.
Perhaps He thinks along these lines: I
love Nancy so much, I am going to overwhelm her with gifts she needs, some she
doesn’t even know she needs, that are perfect for her, because she is Mine. And
yes, I have already paid top price.
Consider how many things we receive in abundance from our
extravagant God:
·
grace and
peace of course (2 Peter 1:2)
·
the Spirit
of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians 1:17)
·
the
knowledge of his will (Colossians 1:9)
·
life to
the full (John 10:10)
·
hope—the
riches of his glorious inheritance, his incomparably great power (Ephesians
1:18)
·
the fruit
of righteousness (Philippians 1:11)
·
love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control–why,
all the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23)
·
love that
surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness
of God (Ephesians 3:19)
The list goes on, but what is more extravagant than all the fullness of God, oozing within.
How does Peter say our abundance comes about? Through our knowledge of God and of Jesus
our Lord. That is to say, through a personal, intimate relationship with
God and with Jesus. This is a knowledge that grows and grows. The more time
spent with the Lord, the more we want of Him; the better we get to know Him, the
greater is our understanding of abundance.
Sweet Jesus, the very
thought of Your extravagant abundance oozes peace all over my soul.
Nancy P
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