My problem tends to be that I tell myself I'm never good enough. I have so many problems and I obsess over them, so I feel unworthy of anyone else's affection, as if other people know about my personal struggles and are judging me for them. My brain tells me that they aren't, but deep inside, I just know they are. No one else has told me that I'm not good enough or done anything to make me feel that way - I just have high standards of myself, and I fall short constantly. I feel like I have to prove myself on a daily basis: to myself, to everyone else, and to Jesus.
Let me be clear on one thing: no one is good enough on our own. God hates sin, and everyone has committed sin. God desires perfection, and our good deeds will never erase our sin. We are nothing without Christ. But with Christ, what hope we have! "Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God" (2 Corinthians 3:5).
Well, I was listening to a radio sermon the other day that was talking about this very thing. The guy speaking - I don't know who it was - was talking about how Satan accuses people of their sins, over and over again. He holds it over their heads so they always think about it, and they tell themselves that their mistakes are all that defines them. This is one of Satan's most-used tricks. He lies to us and gets us to lie to ourselves.
"You'll never be good enough for anything."
"Everyone thinks you're worthless."
"You can't do this."
 |
| Peter and Jesus as portrayed by NBC's "AD: The Bible Continues" |
He knew about Peter's passion and his insecurities, and all of Peter's problems, and He loved him anyway. Even after Peter denied Jesus, Jesus took him back as a friend. Unlike all of the other people around me, Jesus does know about my personal struggles. And He loves me anyway.
That, more than anything else, is what I have the most trouble believing.
Romans 5:8 says, "But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." How could God still love me in the midst of all my problems and mistakes? Every day, when I say, "I'll do better tomorrow?", how could God still care enough about me to send his son to die?
Honestly, it's a mystery to me. But it's true. He does.
Ok, I hate answers like that myself and it pains me to have to put one of those "He just does!" on my blog. I like answers. I like them to be logical. But that's the thing about God: He's too big for any of us to understand. He's not always logical.
And get this: it doesn't matter. We don't have to understand that aspect of God. Because no matter how He does it, He does. As Skillet says in their song Imperfection, "You mean so much that heaven would touch the face of humankind for you." We were worth it to him, and we still are. And instead of falling into the devil's trap and making excuses about how we aren't worth it, we should be praising God that he saw fit to save us, and that he has given us a part in his grand plan for the world.
God made us to fulfill our part.
When He looks at you or me, He doesn't see someone who is constantly messing up. Because of our belief in Jesus, God sees someone who is trying.
As long as you are, of course. Trying, that is.
Peter made mistakes. He was human. He was fallible. But look where he ended up! People today are still talking about him! Even though he had his share of struggles, he was able to #1: get to know Jesus Christ firsthand, which in itself is incredible, and #2: become one of the most successful preachers in the days of the Early Church, and one of the boldest witnesses for the faith. Peter was the first one to preach on the day of Pentecost after the coming of the Holy Spirit, and he was the first one to proclaim Christ to a Gentile. Church tradition says (and I can't say this for fact, but) that Peter is even said to have dictated his discipleship with Jesus to John Mark, who wrote the book of Mark and was a companion of Peter's for many of the later years of his life. Even though Peter was eventually martyred, and I hope that God might not call us to give that ultimate sacrifice, the biblical evidence clearly points to the fact that those who are persecuted and suffer for their witness to Christ (up to and including death) are pleasing in God’s sight and will be honored. Though an arrogant, cocky "man of thunder", Peter was a willing, obedient servant of the Lord, even to death; and he was able to overcome his passion and replace it with a humility that led him to request that he be crucified upside down (historian Tertullian tells us) because he was unfit to be killed in the same way as our Lord.
When I think about Peter's life, it gives me hope. He overcame so much, but Jesus chose him when he was still flailing around in a fisherman's boat, not even trying to work on his flaws. And Jesus has chosen us to do his work as well.
That is an incredible thought to me.
God has made us good enough to accomplish whatever he has called us to. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (Ephesians 2:10).
God has made us and that alone gives us worth. "For you formed my inward parts, you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well" (Psalm 139:13-14).
God will give us strength to get through any situation. "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" Philippians 4:13.
I know that these verses and the story of Peter encourages and strengthens me, and I hope they do the same for you. I hope you realize your worth in Christ Jesus.
Until next time, dear readers!
No comments:
Post a Comment