A: Abounding

(I decided to finish out the month writing a thought, word picture, or nugget associated with a letter from the alphabet. We'll see how it goes.)

8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:8, NIV)

I looked up the definition of abound, and found that it means to be filled, to be rich or well-supplied, and to occur in great quantities. I like having enough. Having more than I need isn’t bad, either. But right now, with money being stretched, extra isn’t really an option. We’ve had to pick and choose carefully where our dollars go. We used to tease Nelson about the way that he shopped. Mr. Bargain was great at finding a deal and stocking up. There for a while I never thought I was going to run out of toilet paper. We’re not seeing as much of that. He did find a good deal on sauerkraut last night, however.

In God’s economy, there’s one thing that we never have to worry about running out of: his grace. Couched in a section about giving, Paul tucks our verse for today. An offering was being collected and these folks gave beyond what was expected, and gave gladly. And I’ve got a hunch that when the dust settled and the preacher left town, these people found that they still had more than enough.

How is that? How could they still have enough? I believe that their enough and God’s grace are significantly linked. Too often we consider grace (and mercy) to be used like “Get out of jail free” cards, that God’s grace comes to mop up our messes, to get us through the tough times. It does in part, but not merely so that we can sit back until the next mess or trial and expect God to just get us through. God’s grace gives us everything we need so that we can be adequately prepared for the work he designed for us.

Tucked way back in the story of Abraham, God tells Abraham the secret to understanding how and why God blesses us. He tells Abe that he is blessed to be a blessing (Genesis 12:1-2). We are not meant to be reservoirs or storage centers for God to dump blessings in. As you marvel at your blessings today, ask God to show you how you can bless someone else. You have way more than enough to share!