But why would we need faith if that were the case? Why would we need to trust Him if we knew what was happening next? Life with Jesus includes stepping out into the great unknown and trusting, and it is my belief that God wants to equip us for that journey. Every circumstance and moment of life can be a new discovery about a facet of who He is and a revelation of what is to come.
Isaiah 46:10 assures us that the Lord knows “the end from the beginning.” He is in all things and above all things, and His plans far outweigh your greatest desires. Embrace the mystery. Decide you’re up for the adventure. You won’t regret that you did.
The Myth of More
The great myth of more is that we ought to know more in our own strength, that somehow God should be explainable, understandable—that He should fit into our degree of understanding. Yet there is no understanding of God apart from a personal relationship with His Son. John 14:23 says, “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’”
It is easy, as a follower of Jesus Christ, to fall into the trap of doing more, as if Christian service is the single key to close relationship with our Creator. But our connection to God is all about Him and not about us. It is about what He has already done: it’s His saving work on the cross and the reality of the empty grave that give us hope for the future.
As a person in full-time ministry for many years, I have watched and even been caught up in the myth that “more is more”—that somehow competing and striving and proving is what gets us ahead and that more people, more conferences, and more services will please God. But the key to having the “full riches of complete understanding” (Colossians 2:2, NIV11) is to be born again by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Walking every day in devotion with the Word of God and in step with the promptings of His Spirit will lead you into grace, peace, and the abundant life of more than you ever asked for, dreamed, or imagined, not to a place of burnout, a frantic pace, and relentless pursuit of more time, more things, and more rest. Knowing Jesus in a personal way will open up a world of endless discovery and opportunity but will never demand of you that which you cannot give.
No Longer a Mystery
It is not in riches or material wealth that we will find our peace and happiness. It is not in the “more” of earthly time, management, or fulfillment. It is in understanding the person of Jesus Christ and the depth of His sacrifice for us.
Paul tells us, “Without question, this is the great mystery of our faith,” and then continues with what may be an early hymn of the church:
Christ was revealed in a human body
and vindicated by the Spirit.
He was seen by angels
and announced to the nations.
He was believed in throughout the world
and taken to heaven in glory. (1 Timothy 3:16, NLT)
In that short paragraph, the Bible reveals the heart of the gospel—the mystery of godliness and life in Christ. The secret of our salvation was hidden but is now revealed. It is to those who believe in Christ that the mystery is made known.
We cannot of our own accord please God or have the abundant life we so desire without depending on Christ. In its fullest sense, the mystery of God is His plan of salvation through Jesus: His death and resurrection. And the “more” that our hearts long for is actually eternity with the One we were made to worship. We never would have been able to comprehend the way to eternal life without the coming of Jesus.
Paul says, “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge” (Colossians 2:2–3, NIV84). In your quest to discover more, start with Jesus. Leave room for the wonder, mystery, and reverence that come along with a life in Christ. Stand in awe of a God whom we cannot understand fully, stand in wonder at the mysteries that are around every corner of His perfect will, and in your pursuit of the Ephesians 3 life, never search for more for yourself without first discovering more of Him.
I was far from a perfect kid. Growing up in the 1960s in Wellington, New Zealand, I struggled with a disproportionate need for acceptance and an overarching fear of rejection by my peers. On top of this, I faced the constant temptation that is part and parcel of adolescence and the teenage years: temptation to compromise, fit in, and seek approval.
Yet at the same time, I grew up with a strong desire to serve and honor God with my life and a belief that if I could keep myself pure in three specific areas, I would experience His abundant blessings. I believe that it was the Holy Spirit who gave me strong convictions relating to my habits, morality, and priorities. Even though youthful temptation took me to the very edges, I managed to get through my childhood and youth with those three areas of obedience intact.
Now, I know that God’s grace and favor are not based on human effort and that there is nothing you can do that will make Him love you more and nothing you can do that will make Him love you less. You can’t force God’s hand of blessing by striving and works; it’s not “Do good, get good.” In fact, the Bible tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. But I’m also certain that He honors obedience and that it can be seen and outworked through simple faithfulness. In other words, obedience and faithfulness are inseparable partners, flowing beautifully together.
Just as we can be confident that love is a doorway to marriage, discipline is necessary for weight loss, and sowing will always usher in reaping, so it is my belief that you will not experience the abundant life God promises without good old-fashioned obedience—obedience to His Word and obedience to follow His precepts and trust in His promises. Obedience is a precursor to abundance. And the best part is, if you’ve struggled with obedience and faithfulness in the past, there is no time like the present to begin again.
First Things First
No doubt Jesus came to earth to be an answer to human depravity—to redeem us and wear the stripes of our sin and sickness through the affliction and wounds He suffered. He also came to bring you and me resurrection life. So it’s powerfully comforting that He summarizes it all with a simple contrasting statement in John 10:10: “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Wow!
Let me explain.
Some quickly assign any thought of abundance to the afterlife and the eternal promise of fellowship with God in heaven. But take a moment to ponder the words of Jesus to His disciples after a rich young ruler had walked away in despair, unwilling to give up everything he had to take up his cross and follow Christ. This encounter left the disciples filled with questions about what hope for salvation there is for any of us, and it was in that moment that Peter took it upon himself to remind the Son of God that they had left everything to follow Him. Jesus’s response to their questions was to speak specifically about the blessing that comes with putting Him first:
Jesus