IS ABUNDANT LIFE POSSIBLE?

Have you heard the story of the man who spent a lifetime climbing a ladder, only to find that at the end of his life and his climbing, he found that the ladder was on the wrong wall?

What if, in the midst of our busy lives, we were to stop and analyze our lives? Are we living our lives to the fullest? Or is there something missing from the very core of our lives? The things we chase a lifetime in the expectation of bringing fullness to our lives disappoint. If fame and fan-following would satisfy, Hollywood would be a happier place. Others chase money and build empires only to find that once they get there, it doesn’t satisfy and often attempt to find meaning in things outside of wealth. Those who crush competition and seek power to reach the top, find that the top is often the loneliest and least desirable place to be in. Others pursue knowledge, but attaining the heights of knowledge is often encumbered with the deep sense of meaninglessness that accompanies it.

The reason why man’s pursuits don’t completely satisfy and leave him with a sense of emptiness within, is because of the way man is- there is an element within us that is eternal. This element is what gives man a moral compass, directs man toward the unattainable perfection, creates a desire to live forever, to never stop despite what you accomplish and ——-also, not surprisingly, prevents man from being satisfied with all that is worldly and temporary.

The Biblical account of creation describes how the eternal God’s breath merged with the material dust of the earth to create a living being that is totally unique- one that lives in space and time with a temporary body, but one that also has eternal desires and an infinite outlook. In the words of famous physicist, Blaise Pascal, ‘there is a God-shaped vacuum in man’s heart and only God can fill it’. Man’s mistake is to attempt to create abundance out of the material, temporary things of this world and satisfy his eternal desire. Abundance eludes him and he wanders around life seeking for that elusive missing piece.

He experiments with the pleasures and pursuits of this world, only to find that the surge of satisfaction is followed instantaneously with an insatiable desire for more. He follows the gurus of the world who promise the world and also an expense, but only come good on the latter. He embraces philosophies and religions, all of which offer pointers, but not the way. In stark contrast are the confident claims of Jesus, who claimed to be God Himself,

“——I have come that they may have life and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)

“I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)

If the answer to finding abundance is to fill the God-shaped vacuum within man with God himself, Jesus, who is God, offers to do it. His bold claims that one who believes will never be empty again has been tested by millions through many generations and found to be good. Yet to one who never tests it, the truth will not come home and abundance will continue to elude.

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