More than enough

We naturally want more pie and more of everything, but God has given us more than enough of his grace. 

Matthew D. Rothe 

My one-year old son can communicate with a few simple words. “Mama,” “shoes,” and “Da-da” are, as of this writing, all he has learned to say—and to my dismay, in that order. Despite his limited vocabulary, my son has no problem whatsoever letting us know when he wants more! It is unmistakably clear when he wants more food, more sleep, more story time, more pool time, more play time, more hugs.   

We want more 

He is his father’s son. In this case it is also to my dismay. Admittedly, more has often been the theme of my Thanksgiving celebrations. I will have more potatoes over which I will pour more gravy than is necessary. I will eat more pieces of pie than I should. Some of us will spend more time watching football than on any other day of the year. Others will spend the day wishing more family could have gathered together, while still others will do anything to get more time in the woods. The day after Thanksgiving, Black Friday, some people will head to more stores, search for more deals, and spend more money on more things.  

How’s that for irony? The holiday designated for giving thanks for what we have is often spent treating ourselves to more than what we need.  

For some that’s true, but not for everyone. Many of you will wake up and give thanks to our Lord in worship instead of getting more sleep. Others may spend the day giving more time in service to others than to self and, ultimately, more praise to God.  

Yet can “more” negatively affect a Christian’s celebration of Thanksgiving? Of course. We naturally approach life with a scarcity mindset. We fear we have too little and need more to be happy, comfortable, and fulfilled.  

God’s grace is sufficient 

What if instead of scarcity, our minds could rest in a place of sufficiency? Thankfully, sufficiency is exactly what we have! What our Savior said to Paul, he says to us too: “My grace is sufficient for you” (2 Corinthians 12:9). That means you and I have enough! God’s grace is enough. His one-way, seeking-you-when-you-run, feeding-you- before-you-knew-you-were-hungry-type of love is enough.  

Thanksgiving is traditionally a celebration of abundance. By grace, simply having enough is equally worthy of celebration. Enough is a word often used for mediocrity, but enough in the context of a God who “is able to bless you abundantly” (2 Corinthians 9:8) with his grace is all the reason we need to give thanks!  

Our reality in Christ is that we can be thankful not only that we have enough but also that we have more than enough. Way more than enough! In all things, at all times, we have all that we need (2 Corinthians 9:8)! Because of God’s amazing grace we have more love, more forgiveness, more peace, more happiness, more meaning, and more hope than we can possibly imagine.  

This Thanksgiving, I will probably have one or three more pieces of pie than I really need, and I will inevitably end up feeling stuffed. I hope you feel full too, but not just from your Thanksgiving meal. I pray that you, whether you feel like it or not, know that you are full—stuffed full—with the abundant grace of an astounding God!  

Matthew Rothe is pastor at The Way, Fredericksburg, Virginia. 

Author: Matthew D. Rothe
Volume 105, Number 11
Issue: November 2018

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