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Jesus Christ - My Sufficiency
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves: but our sufficiency is of God 2 Corinthians 3:5. All of us have had the frustrating experience of being convicted over something and doing it again. Credit cards almost immediately come to my mind. I have battled the convenience of buy now and pay later for many years, and the Spirit of God has given me a knowing that I would be much better off (even more prosperous) if I would simply "wait" on some of the things that I want. But in spite of knowing that paying cash without interest is best for me, I sometimes still give in. We need to understand that there is a principle involved here. And that is whatever we view as our source of security or significance will determine how we act. In other words, our behavior is determined by the person or thing that we believe makes us somebody important. Unfortunately, that principle can sometimes cause us to make unhealthy choices that may hinder or delay our blessings. That is why students cheat on tests even though they know that cheating is wrong. That is why Christian women date unsaved men; she believes that success and fulfillment in life is marriage. That is why Christian guys spend countless hours with unsaved friends; because his friends make him feel significant. Someone today feels significant because they own a lot of things. I see many youth that feel significant because they have a cell phone with a lot of features. And as long as they can keep that gadget up to their ears or attached to their belt, they could care less about their academic health. People find significance in everything except Jesus Christ. Yet what we believe makes us significance determine how we act. If our significance is in Jesus, we will live holy and strive for righteousness in every area of our life. No one will have to compel us to pray or study the Word, we will do it automatically. We know that without Him we can do nothing, therefore we acknowledge Him in all things. I have neighbors that are too busy to go to church. They have to mow their lawns, shine their cars and paint their houses. They will put their kids in every sport, but they won’t take them to Sunday School. People do things to make them feel worthwhile because feelings of worthlessness and emptiness are too painful to live with. A homosexual is seeking significance and control by practicing the gay lifestyle. A female from an abusive background may seek significance in prostitution. The problem is that as long as a man or woman seeks significance in anything other than Jesus Christ, they will never experience lasting victory. Prior to the Fall, man found his significance in God (see Genesis 1: 27-30). All the while man was serving and obeying God, he had a reason to live. He felt secure. God took care of him. There is nothing more significant than a close relationship with God. When Satan tempted Adam and Eve, he offered them an identity apart from God. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and gave also to her husband with her; and he did eat Genesis 3: 4-6. Satan implied that God could not be trusted to adequately take care of them. Therefore they needed to look out for themselves, be their own person, get out on their own and experience life. In other words they were sold on the belief that they could find significance on their own, and they went for it. To Eve it meant being an independent woman. She wanted to know so much more than God was telling her. Why should she have to wait on Adam for anything? She was no longer satisfied with how God designed her. She needed to know more. In the case of Adam, I can imagine that betraying God was the most difficult thing to do. Because once you’ve had real fellowship with God, it’s hard to just walk away. The first thing that happened when they got on their own was that their eyes were opened and they saw that they were naked. This made them feel ashamed, so they tried to cover themselves up. But under God, there was no shame or cover up. When God arrived, He found them hiding. Fear and shame always isolates us from the presence of God. When God asked Adam, "Where are you", it wasn’t like God didn’t know. It was more like "Why are you where you are? What about all the freethinking and liberality? What about being equal to God? Adam and Eve quickly learned that seeking significance apart from God doesn’t work. And it won’t work for us either. When God spoke with them about their sin, they tried to blame someone else. But ultimately, the issue of accountability belonged to each individual person. As a result, their whole world was changed forever. Apart from a relationship with God, mankind has no worthwhile significance. So many people today are living apart from God and experiencing worthlessness and purposelessness. They have success, money, material possessions and position, but something is always missing. No matter what we find to fill us with significance, it doesn’t work without God. We find ourselves living in shame; "I don’t have anything to wear". "I hope nobody asks me where I went on vacation." We exist in fear; "What if I get laid off?" Then we hide. We have a very small ministry. When our Board of Directors meet, I do not try to make our budget bigger or our outreach more dynamic than what it is. I present them the facts and share our goals. They usually tell me to keep on doing what we’re doing. But one thing is always clear; God is the author of this work. Not me; not my wife; not my mother or sister. But only in God. And whether we remain small or grow bigger, our focus is the same. I feel good about that because all the pressure is on God. What are the things and people from whence you draw your significance? Is it a co-worker that tells dirty jokes or a boyfriend that pushes the physical limits? Is it a girlfriend, a spouse, or a job? Is it your ministry? The bible tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds (see Romans 12:2). In other words, do think the way we used to think. Don’t conform our minds to the ideals of this society. Replace our thoughts with the truth of God’s Word. All our security and significance is wrapped up in our relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He created us and sent His Son to die for us. He promised never to leave or forsake us. He has given us exceeding great and precious promises. A relationship with God is the most significance relationship possible. He accepts us just as we are. It’s not what we wear, drive, live in or how much we have in the bank. We are significant because He created us. Let’s not spend our time trying to gain what was lost in Eden. All we can do learn from that. There is no one person or thing that can fill our emptiness. Only God can, and He is more than willing to be there for us. By: Edmund Brown |