abundance

One story tells us that there isn't enough in this world, so you better grab up all you can as fast as you can. This is a philosophy of scarcity.

Another story says that there is more than enough for everyone and everything in this world to flourish, so we should take what we need, when we need it, and share our excess with the rest. This is a philosophy of abundance.

Madison Avenue, Wall Street, and Capitol Hill operates under the former.

The Kingdom of God calls us to live by the latter.

Jesus had just healed a man born blind. With mud. And spit. On the Sabbath.

The Pharisees were not happy with this obvious display of power, and so Jesus responds by telling them a story. Not a story of power about an emperor or an army, but a story about mercy about a shepherd who calls his sheep to follow. The Pharisees grasp to the power they have accumulated thinking that there isn't enough to go around. Jesus holds with an open hand the power given to him, eager to share it, to empower others, to live in the Kingdom.

Abundance doesn't mean more. More doesn't mean better. Abundance is better. Abundance is a gift.