Our understanding of God shapes our identity. He inspires
our actions. If you view God as one who favors you, your perspective
likely will be one of abundance, regardless of your circumstances.
Because you know that your heavenly Father wants
to ridiculously bless you with every good and perfect gift, your
love will generously overflow toward others. The abundance I
am referring to is more than a material overflow. It's a quality
of existence. A healthy understanding of who God is will lead
to a qualitatively better life. Some questions to wrestle with are:
How do I see God? Do I live in fear of God? Am I constantly
seeking his favor, living to earn his approval? Do I bask in his
extravagant love? Does his love empower and change the way
I live?
If you tend to see God as distant, reluctant to release his
generosity, you probably have developed a lifestyle that is centered
on preservation. It's easy, then, to become risk averse. You
may find you are constantly anxious, worried about not having
enough resources. You see the world through a lens of scarcity.
Take a moment to compare your perception with what Jesus
teaches in Matthew 7:9-11. In this passage, Jesus
admonishes
us to have a more accurate picture of the Father, as one who
generously gives good gifts to his children. "You parents — if
your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone
instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? So if
you sinful people
know how to give good gifts to your children,
how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to
those who ask him."
What is your perception of God today? Is he the Father who
loves you? Is he generous? Does he lavish gifts upon you? Or do
you see the world as a place of scarcity, in which you have to
compete for favor and attention, seeking to supply your own
needs?-Xealots: Defying the Gravity of Normality, by Dave Gibbons
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