“…I am come that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” John 10:10 The text clearly says Jesus came so we may have life more abundantly. When we think ‘abundance’ we generally start thinking of the abundance of this world; in short money and everything it provides for us. But if we stop to think about it, what kind of life did Jesus come to give us? John 3:16 says he died so that we could have everlasting life. Now to simplify it, life is just that, life, and then life ends. But to have life more abundantly would be more life, i.e. everlasting life. What does everlasting life entail? Well Jesus died so that we could live with him forever in heaven. We know that sin does not exist in heaven. So in essence He came to take away the sin in our life. So Jesus is not talking about a new red Ferrari, he is talking about living life like he lives. A life full of the gifts of the Holy Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. A life lived with all these gifts is certainly an abundant life.

But you say God has promised to give us our hearts desires. Yes, he does, Psalm 37:4 does say, “Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” When we read this verse the sugar plums start to dance in our heads and we are zooming down the freeway in our red Ferrari. But, Jeremiah 17:9, reminds us of this truth, “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked…” God gives us everything we want when our hearts are so aligned with his that our hearts only want what he wants. I’m not saying money is bad. The Bible has stories of people who were wealthy, for example Abraham, Job, and Joseph. But, they did not look to their money to save them and provide them with joy and happiness. They trusted in God to give them joy and happiness and provide for their daily needs. They praised God, not their riches.

Riches are not found in money, riches are found in relationships. Only a relationship with Jesus will provide abundance in our lives. Spiritual abundance. Unless Jesus has changed our hearts, the wants and desires which flow from our hearts are deceitful above all things. Pride motivates us to seek the abundance of this world. More money, more shoes, more horsepower under the hood of our car, more square feet in our house and more acreage for it to sit on. More power at work, more gigs on our computers and phones. We think more money will give us more abundance. But looking to the kingdom of this world to supply what we want will not satisfy us with eternal happiness. Only the living water God gives us will provide true abundance of life no matter what the balance in our bank account.