The Crown and the Concept of Abundance

UV 1285/10,000 The Crown and the Concept of Abundance
Thou crownest the year with thy goodness; and thy paths drop fatness.
Psalm 65 v 11

The Lord crowns us with His blessings of grace and peace. He kept our souls from destruction. He tasted death on our behalf so that we live eternally. As long as we keep our covenant of love and our testimonies, the Lord will bless us bountifully or abundantly such that it not only meets our need but we are able to bless others with our giving to meet their need. He has given us the former rain moderately, implying that He has blessed us moderately with showers of blessing but He will also send the latter rain or the blessings of our latter years in abundance.

He crowns us with His goodness- this means that not only the goodies that He gives, the good things that He has promised to fill our mouths with but that He will clothe us with His goodness. He will prepare us for works of righteousness. Some versions of the Bible put the last part of this uni-verse, “ all your carts will overflow with abundance.” A king never needs to worry about where his next meal is coming from. He is not worried about how to pay his taxes or to make ends meet. Similarly, we need to know we are wearing crowns given by our Father in heaven a king and that He will supply all our need according to His riches in glory. When we worry and agonize over our wants or future wants, we are allowing the crown of peace and security to fall from our heads. Scripture promises that He will give us treasures out of darkness or out of secret places. We need not worry if the stock or the source is sufficient or whether it will run out on us. We need to wear not a physical crown but a crown of assurance and faith in the promises and the ability as well as desire of God to meet all our needs. He will provide for us while we are sleeping. Apart from mankind all other species are provided food and drink according to their need without any of them working for it or growing it for their consumption. This is the reason Jesus said, “ Look at the sparrow- it neither sows nor reaps.” It does not mean that we do not work or are not diligent but that we should wear our spiritual crowns all the time and hold our heads in peace and security knowing that the Lord who has met all our need this far will continue to do so. We need to wear the crown and walk the paths God has intended and indicated to us with the alternating feet of faith and love. We need to push our carts towards the finishing line or work with enthusiasm and motivation to fulfill the purpose the Lord has given us.

The concept and reality of abundance is seen in the miracles as well as teachings of Jesus. He held little in His hands or His pockets or in the purse of His followers but He always displayed an attitude of abundance. We too need to reflect His abundance mentality and not the scarcity mentality that we are conditioned to exhibit. Jesus said, “ I have come that you might have life and life in all its abundance.” When no food was available or in sight, He asked his disciples without batting an eyelid to “give them food as they are hungry.” After they fed the multitudes, as many as seven and twelve baskets of leftovers were collected. When Jesus turned the water into wine, the vats were filled to the brim and there was sufficient and more for all. When He told the disciples to cast their empty nets on the right side, the nets were filled with large fish to the point of bursting the seams. God has purposed abundance in all aspects of our lives: physically, we need to be healthy, vibrant and multiply; intellectually, we need to rule; emotionally, we need to be overflowing with joy, peace and love; spiritually, we need to be abounding in the fruit of the spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility and self control, financially, we need to be sufficient and contented; socially, our influence need to grow manifold; professionally, our goals should be achieved. This teaching of abundance in scripture runs counter to the culture and knowledge of this age which is spreading the idea of scarce resources, unlimited wants, shortages of food and water, threatened and dying species, an ecology and environment that is threatened and damaged, an ozone layer that is depleting and so on. But the Lord God is not limited by any factor in time or space. He is able to provide for us consistently all year round, in times of famine as well as in times of plenty. His goodness is with us 365 days and 24x7. Our connection, our commitment and our communication with Him should also be 365 days and 24x7. The marrow of a bone is what I enjoy the most in terms of food. Scripture says that He will satisfy our need as with marrow and fatness.

Prateep V Philip