He gives the Spirit without measure.

 

Tuesday, July 11, 2023


Psalm 31

1 Samuel 26

John 3:22-36


Observance: Benedict of Nursia, abbot (d. 550)


He gives the Spirit without measure.


There was a successful Canadian comedian, now deceased, Norm MacDonald, who once observed that it was easier to be poor than to be rich. He would have known: gifted with exceptional intelligence, he moved to the US, rose from strength to strength in the comedy circuit, became a national household name, and is still mourned today as an adopted national treasure in that country. But he liked to talk about how short-lived his time as a homeowner was. Almost as soon as he bought his first home, he sold it again – too many things to worry about, too many added stresses.


I wonder if this attitude (which we all have) creates the circumstances that makes it difficult for us to accept that God really does love us and wants to bless us as much as He does. Having just the right amount of money – a little more than enough, but not too much to worry about – makes life a whole lot easier than being in either of the two extremes. Do we perhaps stress about God’s blessings in the same way we worry about our own personal circumstances? We don’t want too little of God’s love to miss out on the good life, but we don’t want so much of it that we start worrying about losing it. Just enough, thank you God, and I can be on my way?


Because there is no such thing as too much love from God. There is no such thing as too much time spent in His presence. All things have been given from the Father to the Son (Jn 3:35) and the Son has given Himself completely to us, to enjoy with and be with, without measure, forever. The blessing and love of God stands outside anything material we can consider. God’s love is supernatural. It is our purpose of being; it is the reason we are here in the first place. We can never have too much of God’s love, and God will never stop loving us.

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