Our part is a journey of surrender, His part is a journey to find that which is lost.
I spent a lot of my growing up years feeling guilty, like I was letting God down. I’d go my own way, turning my heart toward things of the world. Inevitably, I’d feel convicted, confess my sins, ask Jesus to come back into my heart and rededicate my life to him. This would last for a while, then before long, I would stray again. Once, in my early teen years, a friend asked me if I was a Christian. I said, full of guilt, “No. I’m not a Christian.” I had been doing the things that the other teenagers around me were doing. To say I was a Christian, while acting so worldly, was being a hypocrite. I didn’t want to lead others astray because of my behavior.
I spent many years, far into adulthood, trying to reconcile my actions with the standards that I thought I needed to be living up to. I gave up at times… why try when I certainly couldn’t achieve the level of goodness that God required? I guessed I would just muddle along the best I could on my own, probably without Him, because I would lose Him if I didn’t… ____________ (feel free to fill in the blank with any “generally acceptable Christian behavior”).
This past summer, I heard a message at Sandy Cove Family Camp that sat me straight up in my chair. Our special speaker for that week was Peter Reid, Director of Torchbearers’ Bodenseehof in Germany. In his sermon entitled, If you have Jesus, you have enough, he said:
“When I received Christ, I literally received the risen Christ, by His Spirit, into my very being. And if He is able to overcome the weakness of death, He is able to overcome every other form of human weakness. And He does that from the inside out in a Christian. In Him, you have been made full … I can’t get any more than I already have. I can’t get more of Jesus. But the deal is, Jesus needs to get more of me. And when He has all of me, as I have all of Him, He’s able to accomplish His purposes in my life and yours through His own presence and His own activity. He needs my ‘yieldedness.’ I can’t get more of Him, but He can get more of me.”*
Peter’s perspective was mind boggling. I already have all of Jesus? He’s already given Himself fully to me when I first come to Him? How could I have gotten it so wrong?! I realize now, (hindsight is 20/20), that God had been making Himself available to me the entire time; I was just too distracted by my own legalism and performance to see it. He didn’t need me to “re-dedicate” and re-accept Him into my life. He was already in me. The idea of seeking more of Him isn’t quite the right one. He wasn’t lost. I was. When we believe in Jesus as our Savior, we get ALL of Him. Our part is a journey of surrender, His part is a journey to find that which is lost.
God also brought this same theme to my attention last week with my Willowdale Chapel’s women’s Bible study, A Closer Look at 1 Corinthians.
Just think—you don’t need a thing, you’ve got it all! All God’s gifts are right in front of you as you wait expectantly for our Master Jesus to arrive on the scene for the Finale. And not only that, but God himself is right alongside to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God, who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that.
1 Corinthians 1:7-9, MSG
Yes. When you have Jesus, you have enough. How simple, yet how profound. There’s no secret sauce or rededication ritual or enlightenment or rosary or zen or dharma.
The answer is simply,
Jesus.
Jesus and coffee.
Jesus and biscuits.
Jesus and perfect behavior.
Jesus and freedom from injustice.
Jesus and painlessness.
Jesus and sobriety.
Jesus and good mental health.
Jesus is the answer.
He is the way, the truth and the life.
I can never get more of Him, because He has already given Himself fully to me.
But, oh, sister! He can get so much more of me.
*Reid, Peter. If you have Jesus, you have enough. Audio Recording, Sandy Cove Family Camp, July 28, 2022.
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Sarah Flowers lives in idyllic Chadds Ford, where she is steeped in beauty and connection to the land and its history. She loves coffee and flowers and getting to know Jesus. A lifelong learner, she seeks to follow God’s plan to bring justice to the under-resourced. Sarah is a self-declared serial optimist and melodiphile; there’s always a path to the sunny side and a soundtrack for the journey!
She is a mom and wife and a grateful alumna of Northwood University. Her former iterations include automotive professional and shoe diva. Sarah serves on the Deacon Team at Willowdale Chapel.