La Vida en Abundancia

In John 10:10, we read Christ's proclamation that He has come that we may have lives to the full. In Spanish, the translation reads "la vida en abundancia", or "the life in abundance." Recently, when reading Ephesians, I was struck by Paul's stress on God's abundant blessings for our lives which in the English translation reads "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ."

Yesterday, upon arriving to the airport in Texas, I was picked up by Pastor Ramon and his wife Leti, with whom I'll be living these next six months, and we headed directly to their church, Templo Belen, in Miguel Aleman, Mexico (a little over an hour drive) for the night service. I was surprised upon taking my seat in the church to see long tables placed in the front of the church with fruit practically overspilling on them.

Pastor David, another pastor of the church, stood up to give his message, in which the purpose of the fruit was explained. Members of the church had been asked to bring fruit to give away. Pastor David explained that this fruit was to be understood as a symbol of God's wonderful blessings that He desires to pour out on us this year. As the first Sunday of the year 2010, the pastors desired that the congregation would understand the great possiblities, the new experiences, and above all, these abundant blessings that God wants to give us over the course of this next year. Pastor David also emphasized they every person take at least one piece of fruit, as a way of accepting God's blessing into our lives. He explained that it didn't matter if a person hadn't brought any fruit to give, we were to take; after all, it is by nothing that we have done on our own, the pastor said, that we experience such goodness from the Lord; it is only by His grace.

I think this talk of blessings and abundance is a great way to ring in a new year, a time of transition, of uncertainty as to what will unfold within this next year, and for me personally, a new experience teaching here in Mexico, meeting new people, stepping out of my comfort zone in new ways, and being furthur shaped by an awesome God.

Throughout these next six months I hope that I can recognize the many blessings that God is pouring out in my life and in the lives of my students and those around me, so that I will be able to stand even more amazed at the wonderful grace of our awesome God. I pray that God may also use me as a blessing to others in the way I teach, speak, listen, and interact. I pray this blessing also on your lives, that together we may seek to not only live, but to have lives "en abundancia" as we allow God to pour His many blessings over us.