Day 3: Living in Abundance

Begin

Quiet your heart and ask God to take all your worries and distractions, trusting him to teach and encourage you through his Word. Pray and ask him to open your eyes to the lessons he has for you today!

Read: Matthew 25:14–30

Reflect

The Bible is full of wisdom on living our lives in light of God’s grace and generosity to us. In a widely known parable in Matthew 25, Jesus gives us examples of faithful and unfaithful servants. Some invest the gifts their master gives them and multiply his wealth. But one servant decides that the safest option is to bury the treasure entrusted to him. He guards the money but wastes his opportunity.

What makes these servants faithful or unfaithful? Jesus’s answer points us to the importance of understanding who we serve. Our God describes himself as forgiving, loving, and just (Exodus 34:6–7). Like the master in Jesus’s story, God is concerned with how we use the gifts he has given. The unfaithful servant deceived himself with the lie that hoarding his master’s wealth was the best way to honor him.

We’re not immune to this lie. We often treat time, money, and energy as ours, as precious possessions to protect instead of as God’s resources given to us to invest in Himself God’s kingdom. But God wants his people to communicate his generous nature to others. He gave his only Son for our salvation (John 3:16) and promises to give us all things in addition to this greatest gift (Romans 8:32). When we reflect this generosity, we help others learn who it is that we serve.

As you finish this brief journey in God’s Word, consider how a focus on your Savior’s gracious heart can inform your posture toward generosity. What will you do with the gifts he has given to you? As you think about how to put your encounter with Scripture into practice, ask God to help you grow in a mindset of abundance. And rejoice in Jesus’s promise of abundant life for all those who trust in him (John 10:10). You can go forward with boldness and joy, knowing that God has already given us himself. There is nothing else we could need!

Consider

Make a list of the things you consider most precious in life: your family, friends, home, money, possessions, career, hobbies, spiritual gifts. Next, consider the questions below:

• Are any of these things shaping your identity or attitude more than your relationship with Jesus? Do you see any signs of this in your life?
• What could God be calling you to let go of in a spirit of worship and obedience?
• How could viewing these blessings through the lens of God’s abundance change the way you live?
• How could you use what God has given to you to bless others?

Meditate

Spend a few moments reading and considering how this Scripture relates to the other truths you encountered today. What connections can you make?

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 6:38 GNT

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Thank you for taking this time in God’s Word. To download a copy of this plan, visit this page on the Bible Resources section of our website.