in its
height and depth and greatness dawns upon our quickened sight,
making
known the needs and burdens Your compassion bids us bear,
stirring
us to tireless striving, Your abundant life to share.
---Albert F. Bayly, 1961
“Abundant life” is an
attractive concept to believers. Definitions for abundant include “in
plentiful supply, ample; abounding with; rich.” The picture I have in mind is of a life so rich and full that it is overflowing. Just as
there are many mental images of abundance, there are many interpretations of
what Jesus really meant when he promised an abundant life. As I study this hymn text, I find a new favorite.
This text suggests that the abundant life Christ lives, and
beckons us to, is abundant in service.
Out of the abundant life we have “in plentiful supply”, we can reach out to salve the hurts of an aching
world. And, just perhaps, a fully abundant life cannot be lived separate from
serving others out of the riches of grace and mercy showered on us by God. No
one can live an abundant life outside the sphere of serving a hurting world.
Isn’t it rich?
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