I AssumeThat You Live In The West

I assume that you live in the West, and that for you too, the holiday season means awesome feasts, gifts and I hope lots of family time. To sum it up, the holiday season is the best season to experience ABUNDANCE.
But do you feel this abundance throughout the year? I’ve asked myself this question as I was working on my resolutions, or my goals rather, for 2013. I’ve decided that 2013 will be, for me, a year of ABUNDANCE. But not the typical worldly abundance, ie. lots of money, lots of romantic love, lots a friends, lots of business… no, my goal is to feel full of abundance, in the sense that I am content.

The abundance that we may feel during the holiday season is probably not the kind that is given by God, for it rarely lasts. I want abundance to last. So maybe it means that I have to rethink my vision of abundance to find the kind that God intended us to experience.
“Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” Jude 1:2. I want this verse to ring true in my life. Rather, I want to become aware of how this verse rings true in my life. Because in some way or another, this verse rings true in every one of us.
So how does one become aware of the abundance of mercy, peace and love in one’s life?
I notice the order of the words. First mercy, then peace and lastly love. It strikes me as unusual that love would be listed last, since I know that God is Love. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13 says “the greatest of these is love.” But God in His infinite wisdom puts mercy (aka grace) first because it all starts from His mercy.
Nothing we do can give ABUNDANCE. We can have all the money in the world, and still not feel like we have abundance. Abundance is a state of mind, not a relationship status or the state of a bank account.
Everything that comes to you is undeserving. There’s nothing you can do to deserve the good or the bad that comes your way. Everything you experience is a gift, sometimes a hidden gift. Therefore, you become THANKFUL for what you have because it is a GIFT to you from God, from the universe.
And once you understand that God has given all these GIFTS to you by grace, and that you understand that there’s nothing you need to do to be deserving of more gifts, you start to feel the PEACE that brings grace. Because the focus is no longer on you and your behavior. The focus is on God and His grace. And thanking Him for His grace.
And once you feel the mercy, the grace that God has given to you freely, and that the focus is no longer on you, then you can feel the abundance of LOVE:
- The LOVE coming your way because God is showing you how much He loves you.
- The renewed love of yourself and the opportunity to be more gentle on yourself because you now understand that it’s ok to make mistakes, it’s ok to fall. And that you’re falling doesn’t stop God from loving you and freely giving to you in His grace.
- You can start to love others more openly, and more freely because you love yourself more openly and freely because you know God loves you openly and freely.
That’s why “mercy, peace, love” is named in that order. Because everything that comes our way comes from grace. There’s nothing we’ve done to deserve the good and/or the bad. Every experience is a gift from God, there’s no such thing as a curse. Acknowledging that truth brings you peace because the focus is no longer on you. You can now rest from the bad thoughts you had about yourself. Which opens up space for love, to freely receive it and freely give it around you.
And that’s how you experience ABUNDANCE. It’s not about material possessions, it’s not about your relationships. It starts with you being THANKFUL for God’s grace, even if all you have is very little.
I assume that you live in the West, and that for you too, the holiday season means awesome feasts, gifts and I hope lots of family time. To sum it up, the holiday season is the best season to experience ABUNDANCE.
But do you feel this abundance throughout the year? I’ve asked myself this question as I was working on my resolutions, or my goals rather, for 2013. I’ve decided that 2013 will be, for me, a year of ABUNDANCE. But not the typical worldly abundance, ie. lots of money, lots of romantic love, lots a friends, lots of business… no, my goal is to feel full of abundance, in the sense that I am content.

The abundance that we may feel during the holiday season is probably not the kind that is given by God, for it rarely lasts. I want abundance to last. So maybe it means that I have to rethink my vision of abundance to find the kind that God intended us to experience.
“Mercy, peace and love be yours in abundance.” Jude 1:2. I want this verse to ring true in my life. Rather, I want to become aware of how this verse rings true in my life. Because in some way or another, this verse rings true in every one of us.
So how does one become aware of the abundance of mercy, peace and love in one’s life?
I notice the order of the words. First mercy, then peace and lastly love. It strikes me as unusual that love would be listed last, since I know that God is Love. Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:13 says “the greatest of these is love.” But God in His infinite wisdom puts mercy (aka grace) first because it all starts from His mercy.
Nothing we do can give ABUNDANCE. We can have all the money in the world, and still not feel like we have abundance. Abundance is a state of mind, not a relationship status or the state of a bank account.
Everything that comes to you is undeserving. There’s nothing you can do to deserve the good or the bad that comes your way. Everything you experience is a gift, sometimes a hidden gift. Therefore, you become THANKFUL for what you have because it is a GIFT to you from God, from the universe.
And once you understand that God has given all these GIFTS to you by grace, and that you understand that there’s nothing you need to do to be deserving of more gifts, you start to feel the PEACE that brings grace. Because the focus is no longer on you and your behavior. The focus is on God and His grace. And thanking Him for His grace.
And once you feel the mercy, the grace that God has given to you freely, and that the focus is no longer on you, then you can feel the abundance of LOVE:
- The LOVE coming your way because God is showing you how much He loves you.
- The renewed love of yourself and the opportunity to be more gentle on yourself because you now understand that it’s ok to make mistakes, it’s ok to fall. And that you’re falling doesn’t stop God from loving you and freely giving to you in His grace.
- You can start to love others more openly, and more freely because you love yourself more openly and freely because you know God loves you openly and freely.
That’s why “mercy, peace, love” is named in that order. Because everything that comes our way comes from grace. There’s nothing we’ve done to deserve the good and/or the bad. Every experience is a gift from God, there’s no such thing as a curse. Acknowledging that truth brings you peace because the focus is no longer on you. You can now rest from the bad thoughts you had about yourself. Which opens up space for love, to freely receive it and freely give it around you.
And that’s how you experience ABUNDANCE. It’s not about material possessions, it’s not about your relationships. It starts with you being THANKFUL for God’s grace, even if all you have is very little.