We all want to flourish in life. The dictionary defines flourish as to grow or develop in a healthy or vigorous way, especially as the result of a, particularly favourable environment. God’s will is that we would all flourish, that we would all grow and develop in a healthy and vigorous way but it’s not dependent upon a favourable environment for us as Christians. We can flourish because we have God’s favour. As believers, we can flourish no matter what the circumstances are.
The word “salvation” means “Sozo” in the Greek (in which the New Testament was written) and it can be translated as “to do well, to prosper.” When we are talking about how we can flourish we’re talking about salvation, really. God wants us to flourish and salvation is the first step to flourishing. Christianity isn’t just another religion – and salvation isn’t just a religious concept. Salvation changes absolutely everything.
John 3:16 New King James Version (NKJV)
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
A lot of Christians don’t really get this. Salvation is all because of God’s love. Salvation is all about experiencing God’s love. God wants us to live in an experience of the reality of His unconditional love. That’s what it’s all about. When we receive that love it causes us to flourish. It’s like a plant. It needs certain things in order to live and survive. A plant needs sunlight, water, good soil and given the right conditions, it will flourish. The major thing that causes us to flourish is God’s love. Sadly, a lot of Christians aren’t rooted and grounded in the love of God. They’re more acquainted with what they need to do for God than how much He loves them and as a result, they are not flourishing. You cannot flourish unless you’re rooted and grounded in the love of God. “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son, Jesus, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Jesus came to give us salvation. The next verse (John 3:17) says that he didn’t come to condemn the world, but he came to save the world. He came to save us from perishing. He came to save us from destruction – He came to rescue us and to put us into a good place. That good place isn’t a place with a whole new set of rules and regulations that govern your life and get you to live in a certain way. This new life that we have in Christ isn’t about trying to live up to a set of expectations from God is purely a relationship with him. Christianity is a change that happens on the inside; you become a completely new person!
2 Corinthians 5:17 New King James Version (NKJV)
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
“If any man be in Christ” is talking about salvation; “he is a new creation or new creature” that’s not talking about a new set of rules, code of conduct or an opportunity to try harder to be better. Christianity is about coming from death to life (Ephesians 2:1) and living as a completely new creation in Christ Jesus – it’s a new life!
The gospel is not the good news of what you have to do to experience the blessing of God. The gospel is the good news message of what God has done for you and freely offers you, and how you can live a flourishing life because of faith in Jesus. We can flourish, we can grow, we can thrive, we can prosper, we can do well in all of life because of Jesus and faith in Him. You cannot flourish in life apart from Jesus.
If you’ve never received Jesus, you’ve got an invitation to receive Him right now and to start flourishing. It’ll bring you an unspeakable joy and cause you to come alive and experience life like never before. I’ll give you an opportunity in a moment, but if you are born again, then I just want to encourage you not to be seeking anything other than Christ for success in your life. As Christians, we often fall into the trap of thinking that there is something other than Christ which will cause us to flourish. The gospel is your breakthrough. The gospel is the key to your prosperity and flourishing.
If you’re not born again and if you’ve never received Jesus, I want to encourage you to take the first step towards flourishing and living in abundant life that Jesus came to give you. Pray this prayer from your heart:
Jesus, I confess that You are my Lord and Savior. I believe in my heart that God raised You from the dead. By faith in Your Word, I receive salvation now. Thank You for saving me!
If you prayed that prayer, please let me know so that I can celebrate with you and send you some resources to help you grow in your relationship with God.