Are we good enough

Summary

Our primary struggle in life as a Christian is with ourselves.  Either we are declaring that we are not good enough for God to love.  Or we are proclaiming that we are good enough.  The problem is, in each situation we are the ones
telling God what’s up.  We are the ones telling God where we stand with him.  We are the ones breaking the First Commandment.
“I am the Lord your God.  You shall have no other Gods.”
The First Commandment is very clear.  God is God, and God is the one who is in
charge.

So, this is where we become our own biggest challenge.  When we, like the Pharisee
in today’s scripture decide that we are righteous enough, that we are good enough, we end up
standing in for God.  In declaring ourselves righteous we have decided, in essence, that we do
not need God.  We have stepped into God’s role as Savior.  When we declare that we are
righteous, that we have life under control, we in essence are saying to God, “We do not need
you anymore.”
That is really what the Pharisee was proclaiming in the temple that day.
Conversely, when we declare that we have sinned so badly, or are such a loser, that God could
never love us and shouldn’t even try, we have decided to take the part of God and be supreme
Judge over our own lives.  The problem though is that we are not God.    Either
we decide that we are good enough, or not good enough for Jesus, but this all misses the
point.
Our salvation has nothing to do with what we think about our actions in life, and
everything to do with Jesus’ actions in life.  Jesus came to earth, died and rose again because
he loves us and wants us with him to love always.  And that’s it!

We have salvation in spite of ourselves and our actions, not because of them.  All that
we can do is stand before God, like the tax collector, and cry out, “Lord, have mercy upon
me!  I am a sinner.  I am your child.  Thank you for your mercy and your love.”
As believers, we live in the reality of Jesus’ gift of grace and love.  We are given
salvation, and so we must know that we are forgiven our sins.  We can know God loves us,
because Jesus gave his life for you, and for me.  That’s what it’s all about…salvation by
Jesus’ love

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