Enough

I’ve never been especially brilliant. Nor am I particularly daft. It is not false modesty for me to admit the universe of things I’m either ignorant of or too slow to fully understand. Neither is it boastful to recognize that in some topics I’m nearly an expert. I may not be the smartest guy in the room; nevertheless I’ve always been smart enough.

The same is true for me physically. I’ll never be the solid mass of manhood that is Rick Cuccio or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but somehow, to accomplish that which is important to me, I’ve always been strong enough.

What about goodness? I’m a pastor. People, perhaps rightly so, expect more from me morally than they do others. I know my own heart and the ugliness it contains. While I would never claim to be as good as I ought to be or maybe even as good as I appear to be, I’ve always been good enough.

How about my relationship with God? There’s a fairly long list of evil I’ve never done. Sins to make Hollywood proud and my mother blush are sins I’ve mostly managed to avoid. Even so, while I may not be purely evil, I’ve been evil enough.

I’ve been sinful enough; sinful enough to grieve the heart of God, sinful enough to break my relationship with Him, sinful enough to need His grace and mercy…sinful enough.

So I see then a pattern of mediocrity. In the name of effectiveness I go to school to get smarter. I work out to get stronger. I choose wisely to reap the rewards of goodness and I pray and repent to be right with God. However, in the name of efficiency I catch myself stopping short. Rather than pressing on toward greatness I become satisfied with enough; enough to get by, enough to get the job done, enough to appear good, enough to feel right. I settle for enough.

Does this make me an average Saint or an average sinner?

As a church we are going through a season of repentance and revival. I’m not talking about a pre-planned moving of the Holy Spirit or some contrived series of emotional meetings placed on a calendar. It’s also not about pastor kickin’ it up a notch or the music being especially moving. These things may happen, but this season of repentance and revival is so much more that that. It is a calling, a challenge really, from the very heart of God; to pursue holiness, to live rightly, to do justly, and to walk humbly with our God.

In this season enough is not enough. Go deeper. You may be an average sinner, but don’t settle for being an average Saint. Don’t shrink back from the heavy introspection that often attends repentance. Open yourself completely to Him; discover the glory that comes from being filled to overflowing with His Holy Spirit. Like the song says, “Surrender your all today.” I can assure you, once you’ve tasted it, you’ll never get enough.

Love y’all, God Bless,
Chad