Abundant Generosity

Do you know people who are exceedingly generous? The kind who, no matter what you do for them, will return the favor with even more? We know a bunch of couples like that. Not that we look at the situation as a tit -for- tat, but with one couple in question, we can never “out give” them.

I have found that God is like that. Yesterday morning my husband and I were doing our daily Bible reading and looking at the passage of Luke 5. In this chapter of Luke, there are lots of vignettes of Jesus and his movements around Galilee. The chapter starts out with Jesus getting in Simon’s (Peter) boat to speak to the crowd. He tells Simon to cast his nets on the other side of the boat. Even though Simon is incredulous to this suggestion (Master, we toiled all night and took nothing!)) he does as Jesus suggests. To his and his partners’ amazement, they haul in not just a net full of fish but one that is straining and breaking at the lines. With too many fish for his boat to handle, Simon must call his partner in the other boat to come to his aide.

What I noticed in this reading was that Simon hadn’t asked Jesus to help him with his fishing. Simon was just responding to Jesus’ request to take him out on the water so that Jesus could address the crowds in the natural amphitheater setting that formed the lake and surrounding area. Most likely Simon wasn’t thinking of receiving any great benefit in his obedience. It was probably a natural reaction and an easy action for him to fulfill.

It led me to think about the story of the loaves and fishes. A boy offers his five loaves and two fish to the disciples when they realized that there was not any way to feed the crowd. Jesus blessed that small offering of food. Not only did it feed the thousands but there were baskets of food remaining. The boy who offered his food most likely wasn’t thinking about his food being the basis for a miracle. He probably was responding to his natural childlike generosity and offered to share what he had.

What strikes me is how Jesus just doesn’t provide what is necessary. Or, in the case of the fishing, what would be a normal sized catch. Everything is abundant: pressed over and pouring forth. God is abundant. Jesus is abundant. Living a life with God allows us to be part of that abundance. For ourselves and for others. Jesus said that he came to give life and life abundantly.

Through Jesus living in us, we can have that abundant living as well as provide that abundance for others. As is the case of the small boy, little became much in the hands of the One who provides. The boy only had to share. He only had to act in a way that was natural for him. He only had to use the resources that he had.

Much like the soup I made yesterday. I had various amounts of leftovers and some random veggies in the fridge. Nothing that would provide a meal on its own, but stirred all together, those individual ingredients became a large pot of deliciousness. Enough in fact, that I was able to freeze two containers and still have a couple of lunches in the fridge.

What about you? Do you know people who are abundantly generous? How about yourself? Can you be generous with your time, talent or resources? If someone asks you for something, do you provide the bare minimal or go beyond their wildest dreams? What things in your life can you offer to God? What, when combined with the resources of others, can become life-giving?

One thing for sure, no matter what we offer back to God, we can never out give Him.

Day 5: Words and Pictures- Expectations & Expectancy

What are your expectations? About your future? Your family? Your self? Your health? Your job? Your life philosophy? The corona virus? I think part of my anxiety of this pandemic is that we do not really know what to expect. Sure, there are predictive models and interpretation of past pandemics or current countries but there is really no set plan or pattern for what the next couple of months, weeks or even days might look like.

They say that much of the stress of holidays, family gatherings or lifetime events is due to false or high expectations. We think: “This Christmas, everyone will be happy with their gifts.” “We will have a family photo and everyone will be in a good mood…” “The weather will be perfect for the outdoor wedding…” We set ourselves up with expectations only to be let down.

As I reflect during Holy Week, I think of the false expectations the people in Jesus’ day had about Him- they wanted a conquering, warrior king to relieve them from the oppression that they were experiencing. Jesus’ reason to coming to earth was broader and more expansive than that: He conquered death and sin for the ultimate relief of oppression. He came so that ALL may experience abundant life both in the present and the future.

If I am honest, I must admit that sometimes I have false expectations of Jesus too. I (falsely) think that if I do the right things, behave in the right way then I will have a life without any struggle- I will remain healthy, financially solvent and all will be well with kith and kin. The thing is, that is not true. Jesus isn’t a genie or fairy godfather. There isn’t a cosmic “if this…, then that…” cause and effect equation. My relationship with Him is not conditional on my good deeds or works.

I wonder if one reason our expectations are disappointing is because rather than understanding the entire word and its definition-hoping or thinking something pleasant will occur, we get stuck on the “expect” part of the word. We expect that when we do certain things (follow the rules, plan to the nth degree, be a “good” person) we are entitled to a struggle-free life. One thing I am learning is that feeling entitled or expecting exactly what I want is a recipe for total disappointment. It produces bitterness, superiority and despair.

I like the word expectancy instead. While expectations and expectancy have similar definitions (the act or state of looking forward or anticipating, the probability that something will occur, the state of thinking or hoping that something, especially something pleasant, will happen or be the case) I think the word expectancy has an emphasis on positive energy- a future, an arms-wide-open life experience that whatever happens, I will embrace and rejoice. It is living into a not-knowing, yet hopeful, anticipated outcome rather than “this is what I want and am disappointed if I don’t receive it” one. (Kind of how dogs live their lives.) It is not that I am suppressing my desires either. Rather, if I align my expectations with what Jesus teaches- compassion, truth, goodness, loving God and loving humankind- and try and live into that with expectancy, then my expectations will be met even in the midst of illness, financial struggle, or insecurity.

It takes faith to let go of the expectations and let the future unfold in alignment with Jesus. I still am going to be smart about my life choices and the way I conduct myself. I just would rather have a future that is totally entwined with expectancy of seeing Jesus work in my life.

In a recent sermon, I heard the following quote: As we don’t know our life expectancy, live your life WITH expectancy. I would hope that when this pandemic ends (and it will eventually), I will look back and realize that I did just that. What about you?

2017-Living Life Well

As we say good-bye to an old year and ring in a new, would you say that you have lived life well?  Have you not only endured your situation but have thrived in it?  Are you just going through the motions of life or are you embracing it? Are you dreading another year or are you excited about the opportunities?  Do you feel that life is a series of repetitive mundane encounters- sleep, eat, work?  Or do you feel possibilities brimming at every turn?

This year, I am wondering why can’t we make the repetitive encounter, the ordinary events, extra- ordinary? Why should we just settle for the mundane?  

This year, I want to live my life well, full of abundance, and brimming over the top.  

What does that mean?  For me?  What would that mean for you? 

For me living life well means to embrace all that life has to offer- the good, the bad and the ugly. For it is in that reflection of it all, that perspective is given and only through that perspective can I then appreciate all the goodness in my life and celebrate it.

• Counting my blessings- each day being grateful for what I have been giving
• Practicing the presence of being- enjoying the moments with others as well as by myself
• Sharing with others- not just my extra resources but at times willing to share sacrificially
• Being mindful of each encounter, meal, conversation, action, etc. that I witness
• Finding purpose and meaning in what I do- even if that is as simple as washing the dishes
• Learning more about the world around me- being curious
• Experiencing the arts and the gift of creativity
• Encouraging others in their life journey

I am sure as I continue exploring living life well, I will expand my list.  At first when I explored living well, it contained the foundational elements of body, mind, spirit: finding balance in being as healthy as one can be.   And that is still a good goal. Yet I am ready to move further and deeper in my pursuit of living physically, mentally and spiritually well.  I am ready to live a life that reflects back the light and love of God: a contagious, winsome, abundant life-affirming existence.

Won't you join me? 

Why Give Thanks?

Do you ever wonder why we have Thanksgiving?  Sure, we have all learned about the Pilgrims and their first feast in Plymouth.  We have read about George Washington's issuing a proclamation that November 26, 1789 would be a day of national thanksgiving for the role of providence in creating the United States. We know that  Abraham Lincoln's declaration of an annual federal celebration the fourth Thursday in November is what prompts our yearly migration to home and hearth.

No, I am talking about why as humans we feel the need to have any type of thanksgiving celebration at all.  Almost all cultures going back many millennium have the need to have some type of yearly festival. Whether it was to appease the gods or to share in extra harvest abundance, why did we feel the need to give thanks?  

I think it is because on some basic biological level we as humans know that there is something larger than ourselves at work in the world. Deep down we know that there is more than just our small existence and that we intrinsically look to something else for the bounty and situations in which we find ourselves. 

I think in trying to understand why we give thinks, we should look at whom we thank- the earth, the stars, the moon, a human-made deity, a specific religious person?  

I am in the C.S. Lewis camp that although differing religions have many similar values- truth, goodness, kindness, etc., Christianity is the only religion that can point to its founder as alive and living among us.  Not to go into apologetics but there is historic evidence that the prophet Jesus was seen walking, eating, talking after his crucification. He is the true living God. 

I think that it is that pull to God and Jesus that subconsciously draws us to gather and give thanks. Whether we consciously recognize it or not, we cannot rely on ourselves for all that we have received, nor can we be the ones in charge of our lives. Similar to Blaise Pascal's quote which in the vernacular has been quoted as  "there is a God-shaped vacuum inside all of us."  Below are the actual words from his book, Pensees, published in 1670: 

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself” - Blaise Pascal, Pensées VII(425)

Sure we have the pull of the obligatory family Thanksgiving gathering, but it goes beyond that: the practice of thanksgiving is good for our souls. 

• We recognize that the blessings we have are not all from our own doing.
• We recognize that others also receive blessings not from their own doing.
• We can recognize that our experiences are not so bad when hearing about others' situations.
• We recognize that difficult and bad situations may have some positive aspects and that time can smooth out rough patches.
• We are humbled by that knowledge and perspective of our lives.
• We can then be open, compassionate and vulnerable to others and grateful for what we do and do not have. 
• We recognize that there are some things that bear no explanation- it is only through the grace of God we are in the place where we are.
• We can then experience the authentic and abundant life of a grateful and thankful heart.

What about you?  Why do you give thanks?  Have you ever done a yearly inventory of your life?  What is important to you? What do you believe?  What are the positive and negative things in your life?  Are there situations or experiences in your life that have no explanation?  Is it an abyss that can only be filled with God? How about the people you know and love? Why do they give thanks?  For what are you and they grateful?  Does that ever connect you? 

Why give thanks?  It is an opportunity to be connected to others, to ourselves and to God.