Always abundant

I'm always struck by this picture of abundance when I read the creation story. The word "good" is used like a billion times (ok, actually just 11) in reference to the things God made. He provided all this crazy goodness in such an extravagant way for Adam & Eve to enjoy, and gave them access to and dominion over all of it, with the exception of that one tree. Sometimes I think "wow, that was kind of mean of God to create this cool tree and then not let them eat from it" but He had given them SO much other cool stuff to name and caretake and eat from and enjoy. It reminds me of the part at the end of the Prodigal Son story where the father says to the older son "you are always with me and EVERYTHING I have is yours." If we are really God's children, then we have access to all this crazy abundance. But how often do we take advantage of that access, or even recognize it? I was talking about this with one of my roommates this week, how so often we act like orphans - like we are on our own to make decisions and provide for ourselves and figure out our lives - or like beggars - that we have this scarcity mentality that there isn't enough _______ (money, love, affirmation, success, etc.) to go around, so we need to fight for our piece of it. The creation story reminds me that I'm not an orphan or a beggar. I have a Father who, when He got to choose the way He went about provision in the very beginning, chose to do it in an abundant, extravagant way, so that the things He provided were good. Not just good for Him, but good for the people He gave them to. Reading the story again today in this light, I think the thing that saddened me the most about the consequences of Adam & Eve's sin was that they were banished from the garden. They no longer got to experience abundance the same way because they had demanded more than what had already been provided for them. I guess that's maybe the irony of sin - wanting something you think is attractive actually takes you farther away from the abundance that the Father knows is best for you.

Jesus, help me appreciate your abundance more and be attracted to empty pleasures less.