Words of Hope: Love Abundant
God is always surprising us. He is full of compassion and deepest love. How easy it is to ascribe harshness to God. Why is this? Jesus is constantly battling this with the Pharisees who take pride in burdening others with judgment, hardship, and shame.
They tell people: Don’t do anything on the Sabbath, worry about tithing, worry about washing and cleansing everything. Judge those who do wrong.
Jesus turns all this on its head. He calls out their inner hearts who aspire to be praised for their righteousness rather than loving God sincerely and others deeply from the heart.
I love this verse now which used to cause me fear.
“For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.”
I have read it my whole life from a place of scarcity. But it says, “Who ever does not have- that will be taken from them.”
Jesus surprises me with His love and abundance. Reading this from a view of deepest love can be read as those who do not have, that will be taken from them.
Incredible the love and abundance of God!
May you have power… to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ… that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. – Ephesians 3:18–19
