Good Enough

I spent most of my life trying to be good enough. Good enough for my parents, good enough for my friends, and good enough for God. It was an exhausting process and I always seemed to fall short. I still meet people every day in the same pursuit. They, like me, are exhausted from trying to be good enough or doing enough good. There is something important that we missed:

We don't do good to get to Jesus. We come to Jesus and he makes us good and then brings about goodness through us.

The bottom line is that there is no amount of good that we can do to be enough. Jesus is the only one who can make us good. He is the beginning of good for us, not the end! So if you want to be good enough, believe in Jesus!
When you accept the gift of goodness through Jesus (we call this salvation) an identity change happens, and this becomes the foundation for the good we do. Before we were like a chef trying to cook the perfect dish without the essential ingredient. Now, we have not only the perfect dish, but an unlimited supply of it. We now can do good things as a result of the goodness that lives in us. Jesus says it this way: "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'".

Today I still have a lot to learn about living out God's goodness. However, when I remember that I am simply sharing out of the goodness of Jesus…all of a sudden I am free to serve wholeheartedly. The Good Life starts with Jesus, and it never ends!

-Devin
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Reference: Romans 3:20; Romans 8:2-3; Romans 10:9-10; John 7:38; Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:10