Jonathots Daily Blog
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Abundant life.
It’s one of those promises which hides in the Holy Scriptures, taunting us with its ambiguity.
Some people would insist that the abundant life promised by Jesus is the confirmation that every believer should have earthly prosperity to match their spiritual bank account.
Other folks assert that abundant life is the series of trials and tribulations the believer endures as confirmation of God’s grace and willingness to see us through our darkest hours.
But since it was also Jesus who told us that “it rains on the just and the unjust,” and “the sun shines on the good and the bad,” it is highly unlikely that either of these interpretations offers a bucket to carry water from the fountain of life.
Actually, the only thing that Jesus proposes over and over again is the fact that the world is filled with tribulation. In other words, built into the system of Planet Earth is an ongoing bounty of uncertainty. This is why he tells us that we cannot change the length of our lives, nor do we have any power to ultimately control the world around us.
What Jesus came to do was give us the wisdom to know how to live in the environment provided. In other words, insights on how to prepare for uncertainty.
So you can see, the natural inclination is to remove all stress and tension from our lives. But unfortunately this makes us vulnerable and places at the mercy of luck.
- Luck is what happens when we let Mother Nature choose for us.
- Faith is what happens when we choose for ourselves.
So how do we do this?
1. Stop complaining about the uncertainty.
Worry is certainly not going to get us to an emotional status, where we are prepared to address the next difficulty by grabbing onto the available assets.
2. Ask.
Let’s be honest. Jesus would not tell us to ask if we were constantly certain about knowing. If you are bound and determined to be prepared for every situation, you will find yourself at the blade of uncertainty.
Sometimes we just don’t know, so we have to ask. Being unashamed to ask is admitting that uncertainty is a part of life, and the only way to overcome it is to get more information.
3. Seek.
Once again, we wouldn’t need to seek if we were certain that what we had was enough. We often need to admit that we are short before our short-sightedness destroys our vision.
There are things we have to seek because the uncertainty of life is always willing to mock what we have brought to the table.
4. Knock.
And of course, there would be no need to knock on doors if we were living in a household which was supplied with everything we need.
No matter how much you plan, there’s always something that comes up you didn’t expect, which requires that you transform yourself from being a mere consumer into a sales person.
Yes, we often need to knock on doors to find out exactly what can be acquired to meet the need that has been brought on by uncertainty.
There is one sure way to fail: put our faith in what we are, what we have or even what we believe.
Uncertainty is prepared to make us look foolish.
To avoid foolishness, we must admit that wisdom is an ongoing journey… and not a default position.
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