Too Much of a Good Thing?

You have probably heard the saying that “You can get too much of a good thing”. I recently experienced that. I ordered lunch from my favorite Japanese carryout and picked up two containers of mustard sauce to enhance the flavor. Rather than putting a little on at a time and sampling, I poured both containers over my Hibachi Chicken, filled my fork and took my first bite. I thought my sensory organs were going to explode. My senses were instantly cleaned out, my nose was burning and sweat poured off my head. I ended up eating about 3 grains of rice at a time with lots of tea to finish my lunch. The mustard was far hotter than I had anticipated. Next time, I will be more frugal with the mustard! While I enjoy a good hot mustard sauce, I had “too much of a good thing”.

When we look at what this world has to offer, there are very few, if any, things that we cannot get too much of. That even applies to chocolate, although Mike Barrett and my wife may fight me on that one. However, there is one thing that we cannot get too much of and that is in seeking to know more about Jesus. We never get “too much” because of the principle of “overflow”. The more time we spend studying God’s word and in communing with Him through meditation and prayer, the more He fills us to overflowing and uses the overflow to bless others. Unlike the bloated way we feel after a buffet dinner where we went through the line one too many times, we feel wonderful when we are so filled with God’s love that we overflow and bless others. God fills us with His presence and His love not so we will be stuffed but so we can share and reflect His grace to those with whom we come in contact. The hymn writer Eliza Hewitt recognized the connection between knowing God and overflow when she wrote: “More about Jesus would I know, More of His grace to others show”.

There is another wonderful benefit to overflowing with God’s love and compassion. When we are filled with God’s goodness and grace in our lives, we don’t have room for the destructive habits and desires which plague the unfilled life. You have probably heard the phrase GIGO-garbage in garbage out. If you fill your mind with garbage, your life will soon start to reflect some of those same characteristics. I prefer GIGO to stand for “God in, God out. When we fill our mind with things of God, the overflow is God’s love and grace in our relationships with others. Peter challenges us to “Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. (2nd Pet. 3:18). “Too much of a good thing” is not an issue when it comes to things of God. Try this week to be filled to overflowing by Him.

Seeking more of a good thing,
Paul