At Abundant Life this summer has been a season of both excitement and expectancy. On the one hand, we have been excited about how God’s grace has allowed us to take major steps as a ministry, including a successful “Art of Building Community” benefit dinner and the purchase of additional property in our neighborhood. Yet these types of steps have also cultivated a deeper sense of expectancy at Abundant Life, reminding us that the plans that God has for us are always bigger and better than what our minds can fathom. As we have embraced this truth, God has shown us that his abundance is always more definitive than the fear of scarcity that can otherwise lead us to doubt God’s faithfulness.
The Old Testament story of the prophet Elijah’s encounter with the widow at Zarephath (1 Kings 17) captures this beautifully. In that story Elijah instructs a woman to provide him with oil and bread but this woman is convinced that there just isn’t enough resources to go around. Yet once she takes that step of faith, trusting God, her resources are miraculously enough to feed Elijah and her family. While it is easy to focus on what we might lack, the Gospel reminds us that in Jesus, God offers us himself and promises to provide us with everything we need. That has been the story of Abundant Life this summer. God has seen our oil and bread, and reminded us that there is more than we think. God has handed us two fish and a few loaves of bread, and multiplied it beyond our wildest dreams. Thank you for joining us in this journey as we not only affirm God’s promises of an abundant life, but work alongside neighbors and partners like you to invite all to “taste and see” that God is good.
