How much effort are you putting forth to be good enough? Are you trying your best to live morally right, working hard and being good to those around you? Have you convinced yourself that you can do enough good to be noticed and accepted by God?  If so, then my post today may leave you disappointed and discouraged, but it is my prayer that it will relieve you of the unnecessary stress you have placed on yourself.  NEWS FLASH! NEWS FLASH!  YOU’LL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH.

Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT)- “God saved you by his grace when you believed.  And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

Truth be told God formed us and knew us long ago and he actually planned even then the good things we would do (see v. 10)

So take a deep breath, relax, relate and release.  You don’t have to measure up, you never will.  That’s the reason Christ died for us and continues to make intercession for us. This does not excuse us to wrong doing but should rather push us toward living like Christ out of a gratitude and humility for all He’s done for us and will do for us. Isaac Caree sums up our present responsibility along with our promised future this way:

“So why not give your life to Him

Accept His love and then begin

To stand together hand in hand

And truly God will heal our land

Then we will wear our chains no more

As the walls come crashing to the floor

And then someday, He’ll come again

And we will find our rest in Him

This will be perfect

We will be perfect

We will be perfect

We’ll be simply redeemed!”

When Jesus returns, then and only then, will we not only be good enough-WE WILL BE PERFECT, not because of what we’ve done but because of His redemptive power!