Prosperity

If you pay any attention to the “media” version of Christianity, you see people like Joel Osteen and others who preach what is often referred to as the “Prosperity Gospel”, a message based around Jeremiah 29:11. It reads “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future”.  The prosperity gospel teaches that faith in God, following Christ, living as he did, accepting his grace and love means that we will prosper, that we will receive more than just his Grace and Love, that on earth, we will be blessed with riches, with power, with whatever it may be that is deemed prosperous.

Now, scripture seems to show different things about this. Look at Paul, a man who preached the gospel with everything he was, who went after the Jews, the Gentiles, the loved, the unloved, the powerful, the poor; he was the same guy who was Jailed and beaten and stoned for his faith and what he preached. In a worldly view, his story doesn’t seem to prosperous. How about we look at Christ, the son of God, the Messiah. Born in a manger, he lived as a carpenter, then he traveled with no money, no possessions, sleeping where he could find someone to let him in their home, all while he preached the redemption of mankind. Then he died on a cross, on a tree amongst sinners for crimes he didn’t commit. He was an innocent man who died another's death. In a worldly view, it doesn’t seem to prosperous. 

Now, what I’m about to say is going to be a little out of the box, but keep reading, and you’ll see what I’m trying to say. I wholeheartedly believe in the prosperity gospel. BUT, that said, the prosperity gospel I believe in is not the same as that of the modern media. I believe, that when you fully dedicate your heart and your life to Christ, you will prosper, because of one thing and one thing only. Gods plan for you. He has a plan for each of our lives, something unique to each of us, like our fingerprint or our DNA. He has something special in mind, something special in our story that is part of his story, something that is his. And to me, living in the plans that he has created for me, living my story as a part of his is the most fulfilling thing that I could imagine. Where do people prosper? When they are happy, when they are fulfilled. Paul came alive by being unashamed of spreading the gospel, something he did with everything he was, no matter how wild life got, or how painful it could be. He found joy, he found potential, he found fulfillment in proclaiming Christ. In a similar way, I prosper by living my story, I prosper by living the story that God made just for me. I believe that when you live the life that he designed for you to live, you are living life to the FULLEST.