Luke 6:17-26
Sermon on the Plain
17 He went down with them and stood on a level place. A large crowd of his disciples was there and a great number of people from all over Judea, from Jerusalem, and from the coast of Tyre and Sidon,18 who had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases. Those troubled by evil spirits were cured, 19 and the people all tried to touch him, because power was coming from him and healing them all.
20 Looking at his disciples, he said:
"Blessed are you who are poor,
for yours is the kingdom of God.
21 Blessed are you who hunger now,
for you will be satisfied.
Blessed are you who weep now,
for you will laugh.
22 Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man.
23 "Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. For that is how their fathers treated the prophets.
24 "But woe to you who are rich,
for you have already received your comfort.
25 Woe to you who are well fed now,
for you will go hungry.
Woe to you who laugh now,
for you will mourn and weep.
26 Woe to you when all men speak well of you,
for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets.
John 10:7-10
Abundant Life
7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Matthew 6:19-24
Treasures in Heaven
19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!
24 “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.
John 14:27
Peace
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
The Sermon on the Plain does not talk directly about a full and abundant life...And when I think of Jesus I do not think of money, wealth and prosperity...But Jesus does talk about giving us life abundantly and giving us life in the full...Many of us tend to think that life in the full is about material things, wealth, and money...Yet, Jesus then gives us a teaching on what the real treasures are in life and they are not about wealth or material things...Others might think of an abundant life as always, or most of the time being happy and laughing (and not weeping), or always being healthy, or having a lot of friends, or always feeling good...
After Jesus gives us and we read about real treasures and what True peace is -He adds to our earthly confusion...Jesus turns everything upside down and contradictory to what one thinks of an abundant full life, or being blessed, or being successful -when He gives us His Sermon on the Plain...Jesus seems to tell us in His Great Sermon -that life is all about the truth, His Truth and not about clinging and loving wealth, material things, and other things we view as successful and good (on earth)...We maybe looking for happiness and success in all the wrong places...When the final trumpet is sounded on judgement day, maybe what we need and all we need is this peace He gives...And this peace is not of this world...
An abundant life is maybe understanding that money, wealth, and prosperity, and these other things of earth can never replace the cross of faith, hope, mercy, forgiveness, and Love...