The Beauty of it All

I’ve discussed some pretty deep stuff lately, and it’s time to brighten things up!

Beautiful Savior,
King of Creation,
Son of God and Son of Man!
Truly I’d love Thee,
Truly I’d serve Thee,
Light of my soul, my Joy, my Crown.

-Verse 1, The Lutheran Hymnal #657

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.

– 1 Cor 15:57-58

Victory. The word evokes a sense of triumph over an enemy or success in the face of an obstacle or difficulty. Jacob certainly received victory over death given to him through Christ. I love the graphic shown above – it appropriately reflects my impression of the Jakester and his reaction to the truth of his victory.

One word in this Bible passage, however, sticks out to me more than that: “Abounding”. This is a word that is not exactly commonplace in today’s conversation. Perhaps we all understand what it means. But to be sure, I looked up the definition:

Abounding: to be rich or well supplied.

I have read this passage countless times. Each time, I had assumed that the use of the word “abounding” here meant in that, the context of the rest of the passage, we were to pour everything into our work for the Lord; to put our nose to the grindstone; to plow forward no matter the cost or distraction. The thought here was that we had to work hard in order to give something to God through our efforts.

However, I now read this in a different light. Our experience with Jacob, although grinding, opened our hearts to realize the presence of God in our lives. God’s strength coursed through us when we thought we would falter, and presumably He has reached many people through our struggle. As we witnessed to others about God’s enduring love for our family, He continued to provide more and more strength; a resource that allowed us to continue. In this way, He richly supplied us with all we needed to carry on both in our own small world, and while praising Him in a public way. How foolish i was to think that God was in need of anything that I could supply through hard work or otherwise. All along, He was supplying us – abundantly – as we cared for Jacob and reached out to others.

In this way we realized that there is an important difference between the prepositions “for” and “of” when re-reading the phrase “abounding in the work of the Lord”. Remember, I had originally read this phrase as “for the Lord”, as in a call to action to please Him, or to labor for His benefit. When the phrase is read as “of the Lord”, the context changes entirely. Here, the Lord has work to accomplish and has given us the opportunity to accomplish it. More than that, He provides an abundant supply of resources to get that work done.

There is a certain beauty to the relationship between “victory” and “abounding in the work of the Lord”. The relationship is that of a “If-Then” situation. If we are confident in the victory, then we confidently and joyously engage in the good work of sharing this wonderful news with others. This year I have suffered the loss of family and friends. Because of my confidence in the victory, I am able to share Christ’s love with those who are grieving. How beautiful these words of victory are to those who need to hear them most.