If you’ve ever shopped at Nordstrom’s, you know you’ve had an extraordinary experience, especially if you needed additional service or even a refund.

A former Nordstroms employee told these customer service stories. A customer tried to return pants that had clearly been worn for an extended amount of time, but was still given a refund. In another case, Nordstrom split two pairs of shoes in order to fit a man with different sized feet. There are also plenty of stories about Nordstrom employees who have personally delivered items to customers’ homes.

Faithful Nordstrom customers love the attitude of abundance that exists there. They know that when it comes to generosity, kindness, and service, they will not be shortchanged.

This is an odd way to introduce a Jesus story, however, when it comes to abundance thinking Jesus had it in spades. Take the feeding of the 5000 for example.

Jesus had retreated to a remote area because of his grief over the death of his cousin John. Jesus was followed by a large crowd of people who came without food or provisions. His disciples wanted to send the large crowd away because evening was coming and there was no food.

Jesus, on the other hand, used the occasion to perform the miracle of loaves and fish. It would have been tempting to produce enough food for every person to have a portion with none left over. But the writer, Matthew, says that everyone was filled, and there was lots of food left over. Abundance.

Nordstroms will tell you that their abundant, generous way of treating customers pays huge dividends, the most beneficial to Nordstroms being the return of people who love being treated that way. The people who ate Jesus bread and fish also knew they had seen something that was not typical in a selfish world.

Abundance thinking makes the world a better place. A business networking organization even tells its members that “givers gain.” How do they gain? They gain friends. They gain personal satisfaction. They gain the respect of others. They gain the trust of others.

When the Nordstrom’s employee delivered a blouse to a customer’s home, Nordstroms won a customer for life. When Jesus miraculously fed a crowd he impressed people who would later become his disciples and the vanguards of a movement.

All by being abundant rather than stingy.