Jesus came to give us life more abundantly—a blessed life, life to the full, life overflowing with God’s generosity. For sure, first and foremost, that means spiritually. But that fullness ought to impact us in every other area as well: emotionally, physically, relationally, and financially. It is that kind of blessable life that is perhaps the most compelling Christian witness of all.
The Journey // Focus: Genesis 26:28
Abimelech answered Isaac, “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you; so we said, ‘There ought to be a sworn agreement between us…”
Just as God had sovereignly blessed his father, Abraham, with untold abundance, so God graciously poured out his blessings upon Isaac, who became uncommonly successful. One of the interesting interchanges in this story is the conversation that took place between King Abimelech, in whose land Isaac dwelt, and Isaac regarding this uncommon success.
Have you ever had a conversation with someone like the one captured in this verse: “We saw clearly that the Lord was with you”? Shouldn’t the people of God be attractive to non-believers because of the Lord’s blessings on their lives? Shouldn’t the benefits of walking with God be visible, at least to some extent, causing those who observe us to also admire us?
Of course, not all of God’s blessings are visible, external, and in particular, financial, but we should expect that some blessings will be. For Isaac, God had blessed him with herds and servants to the point that the leaders of the community in which he lived took notice.
Yet even those blessings that are internal and spiritual in nature should also have some observable outward manifestations in our lives. The joy, peace and favor of the Lord ought to translate onto our countenance and into our voices and out through our actions. The knowledge of eternal life ought to give us such a security and confidence that others become aware of “sometime they can’t quite put their finger on” about us, and that ought to cause them to want to know more.
Jesus said, “I have come that you may have life, and that you may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) Jesus wants that for you—a blessed life, life to the full, life overflowing with God’s generosity. For sure, first and foremost, that means spiritually. But that fullness ought to impact you in every other area as well: emotionally, physically, relationally, and financially.
It is that kind of blessed and blessable life that is perhaps the most compelling Christian witness of all.
My prayer for you and me is that we may become “Kingdom magnets” because of the abundance of God’s continual blessings upon our lives!
Please note: I reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive or off-topic.