in our western culture we seem to confuse material wealth and success with the abundant life, promised us in john 10:10. when good things happen in our lives, we proclaim how God has blessed us. as long as it is good it has to be of God. but if it’s something hurtful, harmful or opposite of what we want it must come from some where else. after all, james 1:17 says: “whatever is good and perfect come to us from God above….” but what about those things that we don’t perceive as good? could they come from God as well? and could these things actually be the abundant life that we are promised???
henri nouwen writes in a devotional titled “fruits that grow in vulnerability”:
“there is a great difference between successfulness and fruitfulness. success comes from strength, control and respectability. a successful person has the energy to create something, to keep control over it’s development and make it available in large quantities. success brings many rewards and often fame. fruits, however, come from weakness and vulnerability. and fruits are unique. a child is conceived in vulnerability. community is the fruit born through shared brokenness. and intimacy is the fruit that grows through touching one an others wounds. let’s remind one another that what brings us joy is not success, but fruitfulness.”
success and riches can, in many ways, make life easier and better, to be sure, but they never guarantee a joyful life. in fact they can become a barrier in our quest to have the life God has for us. j paul getty, who was, before bill gates, the richest man in the world, said two interesting things. when asked how much money was enough he said: “just one dollar more”. he also said: “i would have given all my fortune to have had one of my marriages work”. in contrast, everyone, rich or poor, can experience the joy of fruitfulness. the shared brokenness of community and the intimacy that develops by touching someone’s wounds and having them touch ours is transforming. i know of no greater joy than that of walking through the sorrows of life in the redemptive community of broken people.
if we reads the 10th verse of john we will see that the whole chapter is a comparison between Jesus, the Good Shepherd and us, His sheep, and a shepherd and his flock. just as the sheep were safe from the wolves if they stayed close to the shepherd and listened to his voice, we, too, will be safe from the powers of darkness, if we stay close and listen to the voice of our Master. i see nowhere in the scripture where we are promised a life of abundance, although some Christ followers may experience this (along with many who do not follow Him). we are, however, promised an abundant life, an eternal life, as we follow Him.
i want my life to be fruitful, not successful.
and just as the jews missed the coming of their Savior, because He didn’t come to earth the way they had expected Him too, i hope will not miss the abundant life we have been promised because it doesn’t look or feel the way we thought it would.
Oh, thank you Mike for reminding me of the beauty that I can so easily miss because of my perspective on how it should be packaged.
I’m going to chew on this some more.
Mike,
That was well said and something I agree with wholeheartedly. I want to be fruitful too and experience the abundant life.
In the eloquent words of Martin Luther King, Jr…
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”