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Musings on Classic Christianity by Bob George

     Many Christians live in a constant state of worry about whether or not they are good enough. This is not new information to me, because for the longest time, this was me. I, like many others, lived in a constant struggle of trying to be good enough, failing, and then trying to hide my failures from the world and still look “good enough.” God does not intend for me to live like that. He sent His son so that I may live life abundantly.

    The illustration of Creation, The Fall, and Jesus’s Sacrifice really solidified to me that the Holy Spirit truly lives within me so therefore I should allow my body to be a vessel for him. At the time of Creation, God created mankind with a perfect union to Him. Up until the first sin, Adam and Eve lived fully and had a complete relationship with God. After the first sin, mankind fell from the perfect relationship with God. While Adam and Eve were still technically alive, they were not abundantly living because they were not in perfect union with God. A veil was formed between mankind and God so we no longer had direct access to God. This was not how God wanted life to be for us though, so He sent His son to die on the cross as complete sacrifice for sin forever. This way we may live with the Holy Spirit here within us on earth and eternally in perfect union with God in Heaven.

    There is great joy to be found within Jesus’s sacrifice for us. As 1 Peter 1:3-5 says,“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.”

     Not only does his sacrifice free me from eternal death, but it also means complete freedom from trying to live perfectly under the law. Being a Christian does not mean I have to try to be perfect like Jesus. Being a Christian means that Jesus lives in me. I already have everything I need for life and godliness. I must trust in propitiation, that God the Father was totally satisfied by the sacrifice made by His son. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” As a result, I know that I am secure in Christ and free to experience Christ living in me. The only thing that stands between me and God is any doubt in the finality of my salvation.

     My identity should be founded in my status in Christ, that I am a daughter of God. This erases all other things I previously used to define myself, including things like an anxiety disorder, weight, past failures, and even successes. I am already completely loved and accepted by God. As a Christian saved by grace through faith, when God looks at me He sees Jesus.

     There is no standard of “the best Christian” that I must meet. As a Christian, I often strive to do my best to be perfect for God, but my salvation does not come from my works. “Christians are continually trying to change their lives, but God is calling us to live an exchanged life” (Bob George). God is calling me to allow Jesus to live through me. “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)

      I do not strive to live a life worthy of the calling to add to or earn my salvation though. I do this to allow Jesus to complete his good work in me. Because of my gratitude and love towards God I continue to allow Jesus to produce good works in me to show the world who he is. I must have an open heart and be humble to readily experience God’s guidance in my life. I now live as a citizen of heaven and Satan rules over me no more. Because I live in Christ it makes no sense to do anything else but to offer myself to God for His use. It is only through a total exchange that I will begin to see the changes I desire in myself.

     The most freeing truth I have learned is that I do not have to work tirelessly towards being “good enough.” By relying on Christ to work through me, I am free from the erroneous bondage of trying to earn my own salvation. Instead, by making myself available to Jesus Christ, I will be able to “work harder than ever, but [won’t] become burned-out” (George 170). As Jesus said in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” What a joy it is to know that Jesus Christ himself will provide me with what I need to carry out the missions he asks of me.

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