Sunday, March 1, 2009

Am I Good Enough?

Remember when one sister named Martha was mad at her younger sister, Mary, for sitting at the feet of Jesus and listening to Him teach instead of helping with all the work of serving their guests? (Luke 10:38–42)

If you’re familiar with this passage from Luke, are you as shocked as I am at how Martha bosses Jesus around, ordering Him to tell her sister to help her? Instead of the firm rebuke one might expect from the Lord, Jesus responded with compassion. He said, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.” My paraphrase: “Oh, honey, I wish you wouldn’t get so upset over little things. All you need is to stay close to me; I’ll take care of everything.”

I’m afraid that too often we think God’s mad at us unless we do everything perfectly. We exert so much energy trying to make ourselves look good and trying to earn His approval when he already loves us unconditionally.

His gentle rebuke about only “one thing” being necessary isn’t to make us feel guilty if we’re not putting God first. It’s to help us understand that unless we do put Him first, we’re going to miss out on the best things: things like hearing His voice to receive direction for our lives so that He can give us His blessing and protection.

Stop beating up yourself because you can never be good enough. He loves you. He always wants the best for you. When you give Him first place in your life, His grace (His “good enough”) is what will make everything else work out in your life.

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