Some trends in society I just don’t understand.
Years ago, “dabbing” was a thing. The hand gesture hiding someone’s face seemed ridiculous to me, but it was all the rage.
Then came the phrase, “My bad.” As an English teacher, I cringed at the incomplete sentence. I wanted to finish the thought for whoever spoke those words. “My bad” what? Back? Tooth? Decision?
It seems we often create flippant phrases based on someone’s personal experiences, which may or may not actually hold any great truth. My latest frustration is the expression, “You are enough.” While usually spoken on social media to encourage the reader, I have to wonder:
Are we REALLY enough?
Is that even Biblical? And if it’s NOT scripturally sound, why do believers keep repeating those misleading words?
As an almost-senior-citizen living alone, AND one who has fallen enough times to need rescued by professionals, I’m fully cognizant that I am NOT enough at all times, in all things, to manage the physical obstacles or difficulties that face me. I often need the assistance of a friend or family member to complete a task beyond my strength.
We know that the apostle Paul asked God to remove an unspecified “thorn” from his flesh. The response was that although the challenge would remain with him, yet “God’s grace was sufficient” to live in victory (2 Corinthians 12:9). Paul was NOT enough, in his own strength, to deal with whatever challenges presented themselves. Only God’s power could fuel the energy – physical, emotional, and spiritual – needed to maintain the demands of ministry.
Were anyone sufficient in ourselves to deal with the problems we face in this sin-riddled world, we would have no need of a Savior. Instead, 2 Corinthians 3:4-6 reminds us that our confidence and true qualifications come only through the power of God at work in and through us.
None of us will ever be “enough” in and of ourselves. Only a heart washed by the blood of Christ will make us righteous in the sight of God. Only Jesus can ever make us “enough.”
mpaxson99@yahoo.com
