Living in Abundance: Faith, Wisdom, and Love
Consider Jesus at the beginning of his ministry. Historically, we know very little of Jesus’s childhood, adolescents, and early adulthood. Jesus was the son of a carpenter and likely grew up poor as he lived in the peasant village of Galilee. While he lived in proximity to the culturally vibrant towns of Sepphoris and Tiberius; it is unlikely that he would have even been middle class because of the oppressive structure of the Roman empire. In addition, Jesus was likely a “subject” versus a “citizen” of the Roman empire further detracting from his cultural and economic influence.
Modern culture looks at socioeconomic and educational background as a measurement of potential for success. Economic advantages, educational opportunities, and access to resources often determine an individual’s level of success. However, Jesus had none of these advantages. Despite this, Jesus began a ministry that not only affected ancient Israel, but the entire world. Bearing in mind Jesus’s background, how did he develop the ideas, dreams, and concepts of his ministry? We often read the Bible as if Jesus just woke up one day and God laid out a divine plan for him to follow. Yet, if Jesus is a true representative of the human experience on planet earth; then you have to dismiss this notion.
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Jesus often went out into the desert to pray. During these times, Jesus connected to the consciousness of God and received the initial ideas and thoughts that created his ministry and eventual global influence. It was this daily connection to the consciousness of God that empowered Jesus to live an intentional life based on faith.
Living in Abundance Requires Faith
Jesus did not have a divine road map laid out before him; he had to get up each day and determine the “next right step” for his ministry and calling. During his periods of meditation and prayer, Jesus connected to the very consciousness of God. It was in these periods where he became inspired for the future activities of his ministry. In prayer and meditation, he devised plans for the calling of the twelve disciples, training through the parables, and deciding what locations he needed to visit next to best reach the people with his message. Jesus was not on automatic pilot. Daily, he received instruction, inspiration, and his next steps through centering his faith in God. Jesus’s abundant ministry was built step-by-step in faith.
Faith is the starting point of abundant living; for it is the fundamental principle of everything you create in your life. The term faith is often a mystery to people and is hard to define. The reason for this is faith is born out of the unseen. As Hebrews 11:1 (WEB, 2001) says, “Now faith is assurance of all things hoped for, proof of things not seen.”
Faith is the starting point of abundant living; for it is the fundamental principle of everything you create in your life.
Jesus went to the Father daily in prayer and meditation to center his consciousness. It was in divine centering the abundance of plans and ideas for his daily ministry emerged. Jesus’s faith was born of consciousness in God, and from this awareness came his ability to discern and perceive. Faith is born first in thought! It is the ability to perceive the actions, plans, and strategies that will bring about your abundance.
Your faith is where the unseen manifests in your life. In times of prayer and meditation your faith will first manifest as thought. At first, it might be a simple inkling of possibility. Initially, you have an idea for a new business, service, or job opportunity. It all starts in consciousness; then the idea and thought expands and the next steps emerge. Faith will always begin in the realm of thought first…. thought is the realm of possibility, opportunity, and potential.
Living in Abundance Requires Wisdom & Love
Abundance cannot live in faith and thought alone; it must manifest in real life. Faith begins in the world of unseen thoughts and consciousness, but abundance manifests through your actions. Jesus received his daily inspiration through dedicated times of prayer and meditation. Yet, if Jesus stopped in the realm of ideas, his ministry would have never come to fruition. Jesus conceived the ideas for his ministry in faith and thought, but it was only his actions delivered the fruits of his ministry. In order to move faith to action, its two metaphorical brothers must accompany it: wisdom and love (Fillmore, 2018).
Wisdom:
Faith will always provide you with the ideas, thoughts, and next steps for your abundance; however, wisdom provides the spiritual judgement for carrying out those plans. Faith inspired Jesus with the idea to recruit a team of disciples, but it was wisdom that put his faith into action. Think about the logistics of employing disciples for a moment. Jesus had to identify who he wanted to call, what he needed to teach, and where to find the best candidates. Whereas prayer introduced the thought of recruiting the disciples to Jesus (Luke 6:12-13, WEB); spiritual discernment and wisdom gave Jesus the practical, boots-on-the ground strategies to build his ministry team.
Wisdom is the use of spiritual discernment and intuition in a manner that acts as a spiritual compass.
It is important to note that wisdom is beyond your normal abilities of reason and thought. Wisdom is the use of spiritual discernment and intuition in a manner that acts as a spiritual compass. It is an inner knowing and understanding that reveals the next steps. As you become inspired in faith with new thoughts to achieve abundance; wisdom and intuition assist you in confidently makings decisions for your next steps. If you lack direction; simply ask for wisdom in a time of prayer. As James 1:5 (WEB) notes, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives to all liberally without reproach, and it will be given to him.”
Asking God for wisdom is not begging a God who is separate and outside of you. God’s presence is always available to call upon. Too often, when you approach God, there is a sense of separateness. You pray to a God out there in the great beyond; but God is not a being out there. God is present in every living being, in every moment, and in every aspect of creation. God surrounds you at all times; therefore, it is impossible to be separate from God. An individual becomes separated from God only when he or she steps out of the consciousness of God. To return to your awareness of God; simply sit in silence and notice God around you in every aspect of creation.
Love:
Faith provides the ideas for living an abundant life, and wisdom provides the practical discernment for the next steps of living in abundance. However, love is the energy that carries you forward. In the western world, we associate love with the heart. The heart is the very center of your life force. From the center of your being life-giving, oxygen and nutrients spread to every limb, organ, and cell in your body. Without the heart, your body has no life; and without love, it is impossible to live in abundance.
Paul the Apostle reflected on the importance of love in 1 Corinthians 13:3 (WEB), “If I give away all my goods to feed the poor, and if I give my body to be burned, but I don’t have love, it profits me nothing.” In the book of Corinthians, Paul is very clear: it is impossible to live an abundant, spiritual life without love. Paul believes love is so essential, he asserts service without love is meaningless.
Faith provides the ideas for living an abundant life, and wisdom provides the practical discernment for the next steps of living in abundance. However, love is the energy that carries you forward.
Think how it would revolutionize your life if love motivated every action and thought. Imagine how your life would take on a new vibrancy. Every conversation, every interaction, no matter how mundane, becomes an opportunity to experience love for those around you. It would energize your life with a sense of purpose. Focusing on love guides you to select activities and schedules with purpose. When love empowers your life, you become a radiant manifestation of the very essence of God on earth. You will seek opportunities to love and bless others, but you will also learn how to love yourself. When you choose to live a life of love; you will truly find abundance in living.
What is beautiful about the energizing force of love is you don’t have to complete extraordinary acts of service. Start with simple acts of love: sending a small note of encouragement, surprising a colleague with a gift of appreciation, or baking bread for your neighbor… every act of love builds abundance in your life and the world around you. When you live out of unconditional love, you create opportunities for abundance that you never imagined possible.
Conclusion:
An abundant life is based foremost on faith. This isn’t a faith in an unseen God. It is a God that is the very life-force and fabric of all of creation. It is a God that desires you to live an abundant life physically, emotionally, relationally, intellectually, and spiritually. Through centering on God in meditation and prayer, creative thoughts, and ways of living an abundant life spring forth in your mind. Then with wisdom and spiritual discernment, you seek ways to develop practical strategies for implementing your God given vision. Finally, it is imperative to live in love in order to live an abundant life. An abundant life is based on love and service to others and your community. One can only live in true abundance when they seek to live out their life as an act of love for others.
Written by: Heath B. Walters, Ph.D.
Copyright © March 21st, 2023, Heath B. Walters DBA as Spiritual Life Resources, All Rights Reserved.
Reference
Fillmore, Charles, (2018). Prosperity-Talks on Truth. In Charles Fillmore Complete Collection of Twelve Books. (Kindle Edition). Alpha Centauri Publishers.
Word English Bible (2022). Web Online. https://ebible.org/study/.