“And so my message to you is never: be better. I kind of wish we’d stop obsessing about improving ourselves all the time. I’m simply suggesting that maybe you can show up for life as you are. Maybe you don’t need to wait till you have it “all together” to follow your dreams and serve other people. I’m worried that if you wait ‘till you or your people are less messy to start showing up – you’ll never show up. Because life never, ever stops being messy. It’s messy the whole way through. And so I think we gotta show up in the middle of the mess.” -Glennon Melton
“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” -Ecclesiastes 11:4
I read this blog post this morning, and it started a really interesting train of thought for me. One of which I’d love for you to join in the discussion, if you have an opinion.
On the surface, I’ve never balked at the idea of trying to be the best ‘me’ there can be. I am all about growing and making progress, in the Lord.
But I recognize how tricky that can be and how easily we can loose sight of those 3 crucial words -‘in the Lord’ – how easy it is to keep the focus about what Jesus wants to produce in me.
Maybe I am not the only one?
I believe that the distinction that needs to be made here is that there is nothing wrong or harmful with pursuing growth and change and ‘improvement,’ if Jesus is the One leading and guiding it and showing me the ideals to pursue.
Otherwise, I believe there is a subtle lie that slips in, and plants the seed that we are not acceptable as we are. And just like the work of the great Deceiver, there is some truth in this. We are not acceptable by God’s standard just as we are. That is why Jesus came, sacrificed Himself, rose again, and offers us the forgiveness and righteousness we need.
BUT in Him, oh yes, we are accepted – open-armed embraced and all. The Father running out to meet us as we shamefully approach. Crazily adored. Enough.
But if I am not secure in this truth, rooted and grounded in Jesus’ love for me personally (not just the world as a whole), then any attempts I am making towards change can easily entangle me, whispering lies that I need to be different. And the focus turns on me. me. me. me.
And if the focus is on me, than it’s not Jesus’ work in me anymore. It’s my futile attempts to create whatever it is that I’m believing is needed. (Let’s call a spade a spade. This is idolatry.)
And Jenny is not called to be creator. There is already One.
“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9
This is not about “self-improvement” here. There is nothing this self has to offer anyone, including me, other than a very selfish, sin nature. I can pursue lies all day long, grasping and straining and striving to attain whatever ideal that I’ve deemed worthy, that will offer me what I’m missing. And I stop pursuing the One that is Who I’m missing.
And something awful, something horribly ugly happens in this, that breaks my heart. When I do not accept that I am accepted completely by grace, then I am in turn believing that Jesus’ death and resurrection are not enough, that I still need to add something to that.
And this then sends the message to others around me that they are also unacceptable. My striving, my inability to accept myself even though I am already forgiven and accepted by the One that matters most, tells others around me that they need to change, too.
That grace is not enough.
That the work is not finished.
Things I would never, ever speak to others, words I would never choose, but by believing these lies, my actions communicate the worst.
And my life becomes a message against the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.” – Philippians 3:8
This is serious.
Lord, please forgive the ways my ignorance, insecurity, and deception has conveyed anything other than Your truth to others around me.
If I stopped here, where the enemy would like me to stay and linger and take up residence, then only despair would remain.
But there is Hope in Jesus Christ. Despite how I have been and am still hideously deceived, He still remains faithful to reveal Himself and His truth to me.
And so instead of trying to fix in order to become, He asks me to remain so that He can produce life in me. (John 15:1-5)
And so when I take up my residence in His Love and Acceptance, that’s when He directs me towards a change that He wants to make in my life (emphasis on His initiation and follow-through in this process), and this does not threaten my sense of belonging and security in Him. Hebrews 12 states that He disciplines (or corrects) those He loves and considers His sons and daughters. Not that he is considering to adopt, but those that He has already received as His own. Done. The papers were signed by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.
SO – if this is where change begins, if my focus is on the Lord, and I am
abiding,
dwelling,
taking up residence in Him and remaining, (still discovering and trying to find the wonderful, awesome meaning of this),
then I can start to sense the areas that He would have me
step out,
tweak,
change,
or release.
This is the distinction that has to be made, this type of improvement, the Spirit-led stuff.
Jesus, in me, the Hope of Glory. That’s the good stuff. That’s the stuff that is transforming me daily, whether I or anyone else can see it.
(Thank you, Jesus, for Your faithfulness. You will not forsake the work of Your hands.)
I can look back at different seasons of my life and see the ideals that I chose to pursue – things that appear honorable and good and worthy. But were lies without Jesus. Images of gold that I was shaping instead of waiting for the Message that was coming down the mountain.
Jesus is the Founder and Perfector of my faith, the Initiator and the One that then does the work in me. He chooses the ideals and then moves me towards them, with Him. Because it really is all about Him and being with Him, in relationship. Never about me or what needs to happen in me, as the end goal. But about His Work. His Purpose. His Glory.
And the awesome thing about this truth, that runs totally counter-cultural to what we hear every single day in media and through other voices around us, is that we don’t lose anything when it’s all about Him. There is no slight here. No one has left baby in the corner. His love doesn’t leave you out, ever.
His love lets us just be.
Accepted.
Loved.
Not striving to cover up our faults or make ourselves more presentable.
We can just be, and be in Him.
And we can let others just be. And introduce them to Jesus, to be in Him.
And then that is where change happens. Not because we’re unacceptable. But because we’re loved and He moves us more into love and what we were really intended to be. His.
(I love how the Lord will faithfully bring varying resources on my path to speak and confirm His truth to me. This song was a lovely confirmation to me and a great reminder to remain in His hands.)
Ideals or Idols
Jenny“And so my message to you is never: be better. I kind of wish we’d stop obsessing about improving ourselves all the time. I’m simply suggesting that maybe you can show up for life as you are. Maybe you don’t need to wait till you have it “all together” to follow your dreams and serve other people. I’m worried that if you wait ‘till you or your people are less messy to start showing up – you’ll never show up. Because life never, ever stops being messy. It’s messy the whole way through. And so I think we gotta show up in the middle of the mess.” -Glennon Melton
“If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.” -Ecclesiastes 11:4
I read this blog post this morning, and it started a really interesting train of thought for me. One of which I’d love for you to join in the discussion, if you have an opinion.
On the surface, I’ve never balked at the idea of trying to be the best ‘me’ there can be. I am all about growing and making progress, in the Lord.
But I recognize how tricky that can be and how easily we can loose sight of those 3 crucial words -‘in the Lord’ – how easy it is to keep the focus about what Jesus wants to produce in me.
Maybe I am not the only one?
I believe that the distinction that needs to be made here is that there is nothing wrong or harmful with pursuing growth and change and ‘improvement,’ if Jesus is the One leading and guiding it and showing me the ideals to pursue.
Otherwise, I believe there is a subtle lie that slips in, and plants the seed that we are not acceptable as we are. And just like the work of the great Deceiver, there is some truth in this. We are not acceptable by God’s standard just as we are. That is why Jesus came, sacrificed Himself, rose again, and offers us the forgiveness and righteousness we need.
BUT in Him, oh yes, we are accepted – open-armed embraced and all. The Father running out to meet us as we shamefully approach. Crazily adored. Enough.
But if I am not secure in this truth, rooted and grounded in Jesus’ love for me personally (not just the world as a whole), then any attempts I am making towards change can easily entangle me, whispering lies that I need to be different. And the focus turns on me. me. me. me.
And if the focus is on me, than it’s not Jesus’ work in me anymore. It’s my futile attempts to create whatever it is that I’m believing is needed. (Let’s call a spade a spade. This is idolatry.)
And Jenny is not called to be creator. There is already One.
“The heart is more deceitful than anything else, and incurable—who can understand it?” – Jeremiah 17:9
This is not about “self-improvement” here. There is nothing this self has to offer anyone, including me, other than a very selfish, sin nature. I can pursue lies all day long, grasping and straining and striving to attain whatever ideal that I’ve deemed worthy, that will offer me what I’m missing. And I stop pursuing the One that is Who I’m missing.
And something awful, something horribly ugly happens in this, that breaks my heart. When I do not accept that I am accepted completely by grace, then I am in turn believing that Jesus’ death and resurrection are not enough, that I still need to add something to that.
And this then sends the message to others around me that they are also unacceptable. My striving, my inability to accept myself even though I am already forgiven and accepted by the One that matters most, tells others around me that they need to change, too.
That grace is not enough.
That the work is not finished.
Things I would never, ever speak to others, words I would never choose, but by believing these lies, my actions communicate the worst.
And my life becomes a message against the gospel of Jesus Christ.
“For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.” – Philippians 3:8
This is serious.
Lord, please forgive the ways my ignorance, insecurity, and deception has conveyed anything other than Your truth to others around me.
If I stopped here, where the enemy would like me to stay and linger and take up residence, then only despair would remain.
But there is Hope in Jesus Christ. Despite how I have been and am still hideously deceived, He still remains faithful to reveal Himself and His truth to me.
And so instead of trying to fix in order to become, He asks me to remain so that He can produce life in me. (John 15:1-5)
And so when I take up my residence in His Love and Acceptance, that’s when He directs me towards a change that He wants to make in my life (emphasis on His initiation and follow-through in this process), and this does not threaten my sense of belonging and security in Him. Hebrews 12 states that He disciplines (or corrects) those He loves and considers His sons and daughters. Not that he is considering to adopt, but those that He has already received as His own. Done. The papers were signed by the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.
SO – if this is where change begins, if my focus is on the Lord, and I am
abiding,
dwelling,
taking up residence in Him and remaining, (still discovering and trying to find the wonderful, awesome meaning of this),
then I can start to sense the areas that He would have me
step out,
tweak,
change,
or release.
This is the distinction that has to be made, this type of improvement, the Spirit-led stuff.
Jesus, in me, the Hope of Glory. That’s the good stuff. That’s the stuff that is transforming me daily, whether I or anyone else can see it.
(Thank you, Jesus, for Your faithfulness. You will not forsake the work of Your hands.)
I can look back at different seasons of my life and see the ideals that I chose to pursue – things that appear honorable and good and worthy. But were lies without Jesus. Images of gold that I was shaping instead of waiting for the Message that was coming down the mountain.
Jesus is the Founder and Perfector of my faith, the Initiator and the One that then does the work in me. He chooses the ideals and then moves me towards them, with Him. Because it really is all about Him and being with Him, in relationship. Never about me or what needs to happen in me, as the end goal. But about His Work. His Purpose. His Glory.
And the awesome thing about this truth, that runs totally counter-cultural to what we hear every single day in media and through other voices around us, is that we don’t lose anything when it’s all about Him. There is no slight here. No one has left baby in the corner. His love doesn’t leave you out, ever.
His love lets us just be.
Accepted.
Loved.
Not striving to cover up our faults or make ourselves more presentable.
We can just be, and be in Him.
And we can let others just be. And introduce them to Jesus, to be in Him.
And then that is where change happens. Not because we’re unacceptable. But because we’re loved and He moves us more into love and what we were really intended to be. His.
(I love how the Lord will faithfully bring varying resources on my path to speak and confirm His truth to me. This song was a lovely confirmation to me and a great reminder to remain in His hands.)
Healing Is In Your Hands, Christy Nockels