We live in a land of material abundance.  In biblical terms, a land “flowing with milk and honey.”  We should not take our material abundance for granted, but should, instead, thank God for all of our gifts from above (James 1:17).

As Christians, we also have been richly blessed spiritually.  In Christ, we have spiritual abundance.  Regardless of our material status in this world, we are spiritually rich because of the abundance of God’s grace.

Ephesians 3:8 (ESV)
⁸  To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,

What are some of the riches of Christ that put us in a state of spiritual abundance?  Well, there are many spiritual riches that we enjoy in Christ, but they all stem from the riches of God’s grace.

Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)
⁷  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

God could have blessed us “out of” the riches of His grace, but, instead, He did something better—He blessed us “according to” the riches of His grace.”  To give to someone “out of” is to give a little out of a lot.  To give “according to” is to give in correspondence with what one has.
In the 1930s, millionaire John D. Rockefeller used to dress up in a suit and have his picture taken while he was giving some poor boy a dime. A dime was a lot of money in the 1930s. But, even so, the most that could be said of Rockefeller is that he was giving OUT of the abundance of his riches. However, if he would have purchased a mansion for one of those boys, like the one he had, and given him a limousine, like the one he drove, and a chauffeur to drive him around, like the one he had, then it could be said that he was giving ACCORDING TO his riches.

This is the way God has given to us, not merely out of His riches, but according to His riches. In this case, He has given us grace, and since He has given us grace in accordance with how much He has, He has given us a whole lot of it.

The grace that God has given to us has resulted, Paul says, in redemption and forgiveness of our sins.  It is by this grace that God extends so much mercy to us.  Mercy, itself, is a spiritual blessing that God has given to us in abundance because He has so much of that too.

Ephesians 2:4 (ESV)
⁴  But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,

In this passage, Paul mentions something else which God has provided to us in abundance—His love.  God’s grace, mercy, and love are the foundational elements of the blessings that He gives to us every day (prayer, fellowship, providential care, etc.).  Yes, we live in a state of spiritual abundance.  Be thankful!

As you wind down for the night, think about these things.