Life More Abundant

I find it difficult to take in all that we discover about a loved one after their passing. I’ve heard other people tell me the same thing and having experienced it with the passing of my parents and two siblings, it’s surprising to discover things about them and their life you didn’t know. There are some things they did and places they went; then one also gets to peek into their personal heart-felt parts; their feelings and love for others by the little notes and pictures tucked away in private niches. We only think we know everything about others, until the day comes when we’re sorting out the life they left behind.

It is not a secret that people may have a different perception of the same thing. Some people are always looking down only seeing the mud; others are always looking up seeing only blue skies. Now which perception is right? Well, in a sense they are both right because they only see what they are looking for in life. At times when we look at others we only see what we wish to see. We cannot look beyond the flesh and see the heart of a person. Jesus had the wonderful ability to look into the heart of people. Perceptions are often deceptive. They are clouded by our likes and our prejudices. Nathanael said about Jesus, “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” His perception was clouded by his prejudice of those from Nazareth. A person should not be judged by their clothes, or the tint of their skin, or the size of their house, but by what lies in the heart. Isn’t that the perception we want people to have of us?

[Psalms 34:8] “Taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” Our main purpose in life is reverencing God and following His directives. However, do we realize that God wants us to enjoy our lives glorifying Him? The devil always wants to make rule keeping and obedience drudgery. God wants to make living for Him a satisfying and joyous way of life. “This is love for God: to obey his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3). Training our hearts to make God our ultimate joy and delight won’t happen if we don’t know Him. Until we commit wholeheartedly to serving God our lives will be empty and lack the enjoyment God desires for us to own. “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart” (Psalms 37:4). Those who have “eternal life” (John 17:3) know God and Jesus. They understand the depth and riches of living within the righteousness of God (Romans 11:33-36). “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness, as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels” (Isaiah 61:10). Knowing God and the joys of serving Him stays the souls of the world-worn. Knowing God drives us to service. Knowing God causes us to fall out of love with the trinkets and trash of the world and treasure the things in heaven (Colossians 3:1-2). When we truly surrender to God we will long to be in His presence more than anything else. We will yearn like the Psalmist: “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple” (Psalms 27:4). There is no better life than the one lived for God in Christ. There is no more fulfilling satisfaction than doing God’s will. There is no more pleasurable pursuit than becoming like Him. There no deeper joy than serving Him. So give Him (and others) your all today!