“He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit.”
Titus 3:5
A common encouragement among Christians today, especially to those who struggle with self-esteem issues, is the phrase: “You are enough.” It’s a simple statement meant to communicate that everyone was made just how God intended, that that need not try to be like anyone else or live up to anyone else’s standards in order to have value and worth. While that is true, the statement itself, “you are enough,” is false.
You are not enough.
I am not enough.
No one who has ever walked this earth has ever been enough. No one, that is, except for Jesus.
In the book of Romans, the apostle Paul mentions all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. In 1 John, the apostle John says that anyone who denies that he is a sinner is a liar and does not know God. We know these verses and this concept well. None of us are perfect, and very few humans living today would dare to say so. So why do we buy into the “you are enough” lie?
We are unquestionably incomplete until we have Jesus. We are not “enough” because we cannot be. As sinners, we were dead, condemned, and hopeless. No amount of self-confidence, pride, rule following, or good deeds could ever earn us back the righteousness that our sin destroyed. Only one person could do that, and it was Jesus. Why? Because he was enough. He lived perfectly, in perfect harmony with God’s will and commands. God incarnate lived among humanity and submitted himself to death on a cross on our behalf. He did so to become the ultimate sacrifice, the only sacrifice that could save us. God died a human death, defeated it, and rose from the grave so that we could live. THAT is enough.
Rest in the truth that you aren’t enough, but that you don’t have to be. Jesus was, is and always will be enough, and if you put your faith in him, he will complete all of your missing parts and pieces and you will be perfected with him.
Prayer:
God,
Don’t let us buy into the trap that we have to be “enough” to please everyone, to earn righteousness, to be perfect. Let us have hope in the fact that Jesus alone was enough for all of us, and that our faith in him allows us to join in his perfection.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen.
Add Comment