Abundance in Christ and in the Body

As I was a part of our "Staff Soaking" time where we gather to receive from God and share what He is revealing, I was struck by the Holy Spirit again speaking to me about breaking the poverty mindset.  When you have a lack mindset you are striving to earn or get it is what you want, while often times not handling the resources you have been given.  I have been meditating on 2 Corinthians 8:9, "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich."  What does it mean to be rich and live from a place of internal abundance because Christ dwells in us.

The Lord began to reveal a dimension of what it means to be "rich in Christ", when He spoke to me that we often in our culture think of being rich individually.  We look at people like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet who have amassed huge personal fortunes as the pinnacle of success.  Most believers reject this as their standard but somehow what does creep into our thinking is that it is all about us individually being somebody.  The Holy Spirit began to show me that the abundance is really in people and specifically the Body, which is those around me.  So where I lack in an area there is someone in the Body who is "rich" in this area.  I have often found myself either trying to make up for my personal weaknesses or least hide them well.

I am personally in a season where I feel a lack of vision, though I know there is so much "in Christ".  I have often been frustrated with myself and even frustrated with God for not giving me more vision.  Yet what if part of "richness in Christ" is in partnering with others in the Body to stir up vision that is in each of us but there are some that are better at calling that out and building it.  So I decided to call a friend who has a ministry in helping people vision, strategize, and refine there focus.  I also reached out to our Board and asked for help in strategizing and envisioning for our ministry.  There truly are no "Lone Rangers" in the Body of Christ.

One of the greatest joys in being part of the Body of Christ is loving one another.  We love one another well through the unique gifts God has given us.  It is in the area of our gift (constituted gift) that the grace and love of God flow best.  If we have a God-sized vision we will need others to see it come to fruition.  When we have learned to live as an orphan, focused on fulfilling our dream alone then we miss out on the richness of Christ.

Rich in Him,
Bret