Open My Eyes, Part 6

The following post is the sixth and final in a series of posts based on a sermon I preached in October.

What difference does it make to see life with eyes like God’s? Eyes that see how our cup overflows? What difference does it make to see everything that is worthy of praise? I can tell you the difference it made for me.  When I stopped seeing the scarcity of Josh’s injury and started seeing the abundance that is our son, I approached raising him into adulthood differently. I realized I didn’t have to be afraid for him – I could be confident in the abundance of God’s presence in his life, and in the gifts God has given to him.  Josh’s arm did heal, but not completely.  Even so, he is whole and wonderful.  Even if I am biased.  His joy is in music and his gifts are in teaching.  Last year he finished his degree in music education at Marshall – studying in both the trumpet and piano studios.  He’s now working on his Masters degree in music education at the University of Alabama.  He plays, he conducts, and he teaches.  He has abundant life.

Wolfgang Stahlberg wrote, “Transformation is liberation from being stuck, change from being self-centered to being God-centered.  It is the giving way of blind eyes and a closed heart to the freeing perspective of compassion and hope.”

Seeing with eyes that see abundance makes all the difference in the world.  What do you see? Scarcity or abundance? And what difference does it make for you and for your commitment to live as a steward?

I invite you today to ask God to open your eyes to the abundance that is around you.  Will you let gratitude inspire the generosity of a life that reflects the image of God in which you were created?  Will you let gratitude move you beyond discipleship to the stewardship of what God has given you?  Will you live into who you were created to be? A generous steward who gives in response to the grace that surrounds us?