This Texas girl thought she knew the definitions of words like big, tough, and “don’t mess with” until I went to Russia. Russia is expansive, hardened, and isn’t joking about keeping your eyes forward and your feet on the straight and narrow. Several of us from my youth group went to St. Petersburg our junior year with Student Venture to share the good news of great joy that will be for all people. My memories of that time are of speaking the gospel through a translator, drinking a concoction with a raw egg, practicing our message in the hall of our hotel, taking mass transit (something Texans don’t believe in), seeing bread lines, and, the most precious of all, being served a cake by school teachers who had combined their sugar rations for us.
I brought back several gifts: a book about the Hermitage, a black lacquer hand-painted box, and nesting dolls, you know those dolls that fit one inside the other and get smaller and smaller?
I find that my questions are kind of like those nesting dolls: my question is on the outside, but then I open that up to reveal a belief I hold dear, and then I drill down to understand the deeper God-sized truth. Let’s take a look at some of our questions, our beliefs, and our God’s truth.
My Question
How do I know if I’m doing enough?
My Belief
As an Achiever, one who leans more on self and less on the God of amazing grace, I don’t just worry about what I’m doing, but I worry whether it’s enough, the right thing or even God’s will. It’s true that what I do here matters. But underneath my question is the belief that my life with Christ is about what I’m doing for Him.
God’s Answer
God says that our life is about what He’s already done. So what did He do? Jesus already bore our sin and shame, beat death with death, and declared “It is finished.” And what is our response to be? Peter explains to the Romans what life is about in 1 Peter 2:9, “But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness and into His wonderful light.” He took us from nothing to something, from rejected to accepted, from orphans to sons and daughters. Our response to this is worship, or loving Christ with our life and being in relationship with Him.
Sally Lloyd-Jones writes in The Jesus Storybook Bible, “The Bible isn’t mainly about you and what you should be doing. It’s about God and what He has done.” She goes on to say, “All the stories are telling one Big Story. The Story of how God loves His children and comes to rescue them.”
His Word and our story all point to Jesus. So when we wonder when enough is enough, let’s remember that our life’s purpose is to worship Him for what He’s already done.
My Question
I believe that, while I’m saved by faith, there’s a lot I should be doing. Isn’t that true?
My Belief
But underneath my question is the belief that I can earn more of God’s love, curry more of His favor, and prove how valuable we are, by doing all the things. We’re concerned that if we’re not doing something, God might be disappointed. As Jennifer Dukes Lee writes in Love Idol, we forget that no action to earn His love is necessary since we are “pre-approved.”
God’s Answer
God says that He loved us in advance, so we don’t have to earn it.
Paul’s words found in Romans 5:8 prove this, “For while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” There’s nothing we can do to make Him love us more or less. He loves us because it’s His character and pleasure to do so.
If we know God’s love for us is deep, unconditional, faithful and true, why do we scurry around trying to work for it? Because we fall prey to an unholy trinity: me, myself, and I (Lee). We continue to bring things back to us: what we can do, how we can earn love/favor, how we can shine. But our faith, life, and service is not about us—it’s about Him. We must move past our selfish trinity and toward His truth by keeping our eyes on Him as we invite Him into every area of life.
Friends, let’s look past the surface questions to what your heart is really asking and speak God’s talking points of truth to our hearts: our lives are about what He’s already done and we come pre-approved.
