The question I keep being forced back to in this season is
simple: “Is Jesus enough for me?” I am broken at how often I answer “no” to
this. How often I look at what the Maker gives and believe it is not enough,
that at the end of the day He is withholding something from me. I feel the
weight of my brokenness when, in a moment’s notice, I compromise my values and
beliefs for something that sounds new and different and fun. Or when all the
sense of familiar is stripped away and I am convinced the Lord is packing His
bags because I’m not worth the fight.
There is a reason Jesus says we are
better off without the things of this world- He knows these things
are not the end, or even the means to it. He knows HE is the end. He sacrificed
his life that we might come to believe that truth and live in light of it. Jesus
understood the challenges of being human, the temptation of sin, and the desire
for something greater. And he knew from the beginning the only answer to those
things is Himself. He is good. He is
God. And He is good at being God. Why, then, do we fight so hard against
allowing Him to bring us closer to Himself and what He has for us? As I
question these things, I am drawn back to Eden and how far we are from it. I am
reminded of my sin. I am wrecked at the Lord’s grace. This is the grace that
met us while we were yet sinners and took the punishment we deserved. This is
the grace that sees our empty striving to fit in, to feel loved, to find
success and fulfillment outside of the cross, and the grace that draws us in to a beautiful reminder of the gospel. Why, then, do we keep running? Why do we see
the faithfulness of Jesus and continue to ask for more? Why, Ashlyn, do you still not
believe? Is Jesus enough for you?
May the cross grow to be the most beautiful
picture of love and acceptance we know. May we come to believe
that His promises are yes and amen. May we choose to say no to the things of
this world, to welcome in a better yes to the promises and person of Christ. And may it draw us back to Eden.
“It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too
strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink
and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child
who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is
meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” –CS
Lewis
The question I keep being forced back to in this season is
simple: “Is Jesus enough for me?” I am broken at how often I answer “no” to
this. How often I look at what the Maker gives and believe it is not enough,
that at the end of the day He is withholding something from me. I feel the
weight of my brokenness when, in a moment’s notice, I compromise my values and
beliefs for something that sounds new and different and fun. Or when all the
sense of familiar is stripped away and I am convinced the Lord is packing His
bags because I’m not worth the fight. There is a reason Jesus says we are better off without the things of this world- He knows these things are not the end, or even the means to it. He knows HE is the end. He sacrificed his life that we might come to believe that truth and live in light of it. Jesus understood the challenges of being human, the temptation of sin, and the desire for something greater. And he knew from the beginning the only answer to those things is Himself. He is good. He is God. And He is good at being God. Why, then, do we fight so hard against allowing Him to bring us closer to Himself and what He has for us? As I question these things, I am drawn back to Eden and how far we are from it. I am reminded of my sin. I am wrecked at the Lord’s grace. This is the grace that met us while we were yet sinners and took the punishment we deserved. This is the grace that sees our empty striving to fit in, to feel loved, to find success and fulfillment outside of the cross, and the grace that draws us in to a beautiful reminder of the gospel. Why, then, do we keep running? Why do we see the faithfulness of Jesus and continue to ask for more? Why, Ashlyn, do you still not believe? Is Jesus enough for you?
May the cross grow to be the most beautiful picture of love and acceptance we know. May we come to believe that His promises are yes and amen. May we choose to say no to the things of this world, to welcome in a better yes to the promises and person of Christ. And may it draw us back to Eden.
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