Loving and Trusting God
Out of the Overflow
Out of the overflow of our life comes light or darkness. The interior life is what makes a person a truly good person, and this is only possible in Jesus. At least to the core of our being. Then life is lived out of the overflow.
1/26/20264 min read
Life lived out of the overflow, but the overflow of what? Is it life lived out of the overflow of money, comfort, or is it vanity, pride and envy, or is it goodness and God? Where are the roots of the overflow?
Life can be lived out of the overflow of enjoying God and giving Him glory. The Psalmist speaking about his relationship with God says, “You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows” (Psalm 23:8). When our cup is full of God, we are free from destructive desires that distort and hinder the fullness of life. Our desires and mind are instead oriented and subordinated towards the good, which in its ultimate expression is God, who is love. (1 John 4:8)
For instance, our society defines its identity largely by sex. However, chastity, love or sexual purity is an outcome of our relationship with God. Sex within the context of marriage is good and should be centred in love, which is the good of the other. It should be shared among themselves without manipulation. Real intimacy occurs in the context of God’s love for each other.
If our lives are not fed spiritually, there will be very little overflow. Every Christian should be a person of prayer and scripture, as well as a Christian who loves others, in a Christian fellowship and through service, such as evangelism, discipleship, and ministry. (John 13:35) Don’t be surprised if there is little overflow if there are no diligent spiritual disciplines. Of course, we should also love the world as Jesus loves the world. (John 3:16)
If we are committed to dysfunctional patterns and yet hope to experience the benefits of an intimate love relationship with God, good luck. We must deny these dysfunctional patterns to grow spiritually and live life out of the overflow. The Bible calls these fleshly patterns or living in the flesh. Patterns we have developed without the grace and goodness of God. For instance, you might be bitter because of some of the circumstances of life. “Now bitterness is one of the surest symptoms of lurking egoism.” (The Prayer of Faith, p. 115, Leonard Boase) Unless we find the way of forgiveness and love, we will never be free of bitterness, and our life will not be lived out of the overflow but will be very limited. Many complex, dysfunctional patterns must be rooted out, and then we will grow substantially. As the Bible says,” Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamour, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:31-32) Again, as the Scriptures state, “Looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled” (Hebrews 12:15).
These patterns God will bring up in prayer, because he is most passionate about who we become in Christ and the character that is developed. This is why a few may make their lives a life of prayer because in the prayer of quiet, God will reveal these dysfunctional patterns to free you from them. As Pascal has said, “All of humanity's problems stem from our inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”
Jesus, in John 15, in the whole chapter, is about abiding in Him. Jesus said, “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing” (John 15:4-5). We can do nothing spiritually, and we cannot transform ourselves into Christlikeness without God’s grace, power and love. It is a spiritual life in the supernatural.
What does it mean to abide in Jesus. It is to find our fullness in him and our life and love in him and to walk in sync with Him. It is to love him with all our heart, mind, will and strength. (Mark 12:30) It is to grow in that love. Ultimately, it will be a life where our desires and thinking are in line with His, but still keeping our identity as a person. It will be lived out naturally in God's way, as God intended for mankind before sin corrupted our world and brought darkness and emptiness into life.
What are you full of? If it is the world, you will be devoted to the world. If you are full of the flesh, you will be mostly led by feelings rather than love and truth. Is it your dysfunctional patterns that end up getting what you don’t want? Our ultimate longing is for God, and only he can fill them and fill them to overflowing. How do you want to live? Choose this day, for God is ready to come to your aid and transform you into the full image of God He created you to be, and you will bear much fruit. The thirst for God is in itself fulfilling.
When we live out of the overflow, we experience life greatly enhanced with a fullness that is not possible without Jesus. (John 10:10) If you have not received Jesus as Saviour and Lord and become born again, you can today. Turn from sin, from trying to set yourself up as God and recognize Jesus as Lord and receive the gift of salvation in Christ through his love sacrifice for the penalty of our sin on a cross and ask Him to forgive you and be your Lord and Saviour. If you are born again, you will know it and your life will overflow in God’s beauty, goodness, holiness and love. Then you must nurture that life in discipleship and the spiritual disciplines. Your life will also be a blessing to others. This goodness is not meant to be kept to ourselves; it is to overflow to God and others. The challenge is to live an overflowing life in God.
Resources
Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster
The Spirit of the Disciplines, Dallas Willard.