Scarcity and Abundance

Ephesians 3.20-21: "Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

“There’s simply not enough to go around.” Have you ever heard that statement? Or “We just don’t have enough ____________ to do this or that!" (you fill in the blank: money, time, resources, people, talent, land, etc.)
We live in financially uncertain times. Many have lost jobs or are anxious about losing jobs. Many have lost all their retirement savings. Those who have investments have seen them lose 25%, 500% or worse. Certainly, we have reason for concern.
The folks in the early church would understand our anxiety. In the time of the early church in Israel, people were crippled by taxes (imposed by a foreign government) that ate away their ability to provide for their families. Usually, if you were born poor, that’s where you stayed for your whole life. If your father or mother was a slave, you would be a slave for the rest of your life.
Add to that the persecution that early Christians faced all over the world. Many were fired from their jobs simply because they were Christians. Many had their families threatened. Many lost their homes because of persecution. And some paid for their Christian faith with their very lives at the point of a sword, hanging from a cross, or at the teeth of lions in the arena.
And yet, Paul, the writer of the Scripture above and leader in the early church, writes about ABUNDANCE! How in the world could he write about abundance in a time when money, resources, people, even the security of one’s life was so scarce? Again, he writes, “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine . . .”
Now, of course, this “him” Paul is speaking of is God Almighty. The God we serve is never short of cash, resources, talents, people, land, or anything. Our God is a God of abundance! And notice that the Scripture says that God can always do “ABUNDANTLY FAR MORE THAN WE CAN ASK OR IMAGINE.” How? By the power of the Holy Spirit!
Now, does this Scripture mean that somehow God magically creates all the money, resources, talents, and people we need to fulfill the mission he has charged us with as a church? Does it mean that these things will somehow fall from the sky? I don’t think so, although God certainly has the power to do that if he wanted to do so.
What it means is that God will provide when we open ourselves to be part of God’s mission to the world. As we open our lives, our resources, our pocket books, our time, our talents, to fulfilling God’s mission to FOLLOW JESUS, MAKE DISCIPLES, AND TRANSFORM THE WORLD, then God will provide "abundantly far more than we can ask or imagine.” God provides the power of the Holy Spirit to work through us to accomplish his will in the world. So, we must be willing to commit ourselves to do his will, his work, his mission.
We must guard against a SCARCITY MENTALITY which says that there is never enough to get by, whether that scarcity thinking tells us there is not enough money, not enough people, not enough talents, not enough whatever. We must trust God if we are to faithfully carry out his mission. If we tell ourselves that there is not enough to go around, then that is really doubting God and saying that God cannot get it done, that God cannot provide.
The key is this: If we commit ourselves, our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness (as our membership vows challenge us to do), then there will be ABUNDANTLY FAR MORE THAN WE CAN ASK OR IMAGINE to complete the mission God has given us. But if we hold back, if we do not commit our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, or our witness, then the mission will suffer. The choice is ours.
On God’s side, there is no question that he can and will provide the power for us to accomplish far more through the church than we can ask or imagine. The only question for us is if we will cooperate with God’s power or try to work against it.
If we fulfill our membership vows to support Christ’s Church by our prayers, our presence, our gifts, our service, and our witness, then God will give us the power to fulfill His Mission for the church to FOLLOW JESUS, MAKE DISCIPLES, AND TRANSFORM THE WORLD!