Seeking God's Ways | From Scarcity to Abundance | Pastor Ruth Schellenberg

Isaiah reminds us that God is about to do a new thing.  God's way is amazing abundance in a wilderness place of scarcity.  We can find this surprising abundance again in Paul's words to the Philippians: everything else is like trash next to knowing Christ, the source of abundance.  Oneness in Christ transforms us to be generous and compassionate, to humbly receive grace and share it with all.  Mary's anointing of Jesus embodies this abundant way.  She gave everything she had without expecting anything in return.  She was criticized for using expensive oil in this way by those who viewed it from a scarcity mindset.  Her critics weren't thinking, "This is Jesus! Nothing else matters!"  It can be scary to give everything we have to Jesus, "forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead."