By Shirley Rosemarie Evans and Christopher Dryden
God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work …
And he who provides seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.
2 Corinthians 9:8,10-11 EHV
The bucket needs to be filled. You place the bucket under the tap and turn it on. Our lives were empty before Christ – empty and meaningless – without purpose. And then by the mercies of God, we were placed under the tap of the grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. As we received the gospel and believed in Him, so our emptiness was filled. Not only was it filled, though, but as we experienced His abundance, so we experienced the overflow. This was not something we could keep to ourselves. This was not something we could keep private. This was something that had to overflow.
The overflow is God’s desire for us. One of the instructions God gave us as Christians is to let our lights so shine before all men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father, which is in heaven, the reality of the overflow helps to make that scripture tangible. The truth is that as you begin to walk in the blessing of overflow, it will be easy for everyone to SEE God at work and glorify Him on your behalf.
Even as seen in the early church, where the outpouring of the Holy Spirit not only led to tongue-filled expressions of praise but also to gospel proclamations inspiring people to fully immerse themselves in the life of Christ that generated lives filled with generosity in good works and fellowship – we’re told that it also saw people daily added to the church. This is a picture of grace overflowing.
There is the individual experience of grace overflowing as shown in the lives of those in scripture whose hearts were touched by the gospel. It’s seen in the generosity of Joseph who was renamed Barnabas because of the encouragement that flowed from him. It’s seen in the woman at the well after her encounter with Jesus who wasn’t bothered about anything other than overflowing with the news that she’s met the Messiah. It’s seen in the insistence of hospitality by Lydia who heard what Paul and Silas had to say about the gospel and overflowed by the offer of her home as a base for the mission. Men and women, opening their lives to the glorious grace of Jesus, became vessels that overflowed and it was apparent in their interaction with others.
As we reflect on our lives as empty vessels, placed before a loving Father who longs to fill us with His wonderful grace, let’s be ready to overflow individually and collectively for His glory.
Ask What does Paul mean when he refers to overflowing in good works?
Seek How does the image of an overflowing bucket help you to understand your life in Christ? Are you overflowing?
Knock God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will overflow in every good work… And he who provides seed to the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed for sowing, and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you may be generous in every way, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.
Reflect on the verses in 2 Corinthians.
(Upper Photo by Stephen Rheeder on Unsplash)
(Inner Photo by Santiago Lacarta on Unsplash)
