Jesus Our Sufficiency
10th May 2021
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1Pet 5:5-7
How will it be to work in an organization where the CEO is opposed to you ? It simply means that you can no longer be part of the organization. How much more terrible will it be to have a God who is in opposition to you. The above portion of the scripture informs us that it is in the very nature of God to oppose the proud. But how do we define pride . Self-exaltation. Self-dependent. Self-sufficient. Pride is the original sin of Satan . It made a declaration in its heart “ I am god , I do not need God” . There are many attributes of God which make Him unique and two of them are – God is self-sufficient and God is self-willed. Because God is self-sufficient He needs nothing. Which simply means that, no being in this universe can do anything to make God indebted or do anything to win the favor of God. And because God is Self-Willed, only His plans and purposes are accomplished on this earth. A Self Sufficient and a Self-willed God demands all created beings to be dependent on Him and be subject to Him. God gave satan great wisdom, beauty and authority. Satan thought that it had enough capability and competence to exist independent of God and even be above God. That is pride.
Pride does not exhibit just in our relationship with God but it also manifests itself in our relationship with others. God has given each one of us wisdom, knowledge, strength, possessions, the ability to make wealth etc. It is difficult to be humble when we are blessed with great talents and possessions by God. It leads us to think that we have enough capability and competence to exist independent of others or even be above others.
On the other hand, a beggar declares to the whole world I have nothing, I need your help. There is no pride in a beggar as he genuinely has nothing . But having nothing does not mean we will be humble. There is this pride which refuses to acknowledge that we have nothing and tries to put up a brave front as if we have everything. It is this pride that results in anxiety. Because, we know we have a need but we do not want to humble and seek help. So we are constantly worried about how our need will be fulfilled.
It is this pride that prevents people from accepting what God has to offer through Jesus Christ for our salvation. Somehow we believe we can offer God something which will win us the favor of God. We believe and hope that our offerings and sacrifices, our religious rituals and our good works will somehow propitiate an angry god. We read the Bible in the morning hoping that God will show His favor through the day. We give our tenth to God so that God will not blow away the remaining 90%. But God sent his Son, Jesus, to be offered as a sacrifice on the cross, not for anyone who has something to offer God. When we walk down like a beggar to the cross and ask “What should I do to be saved?” We will hear a gentle answer “You can do NOTHING to be saved , but only trust in what Christ has done on the Cross for you” . We then would need to set aside our pride and with empty hands and an empty heart accept that sacrifice on the cross as sufficient for the salvation of our soul. Not only is Jesus sufficient for the salvation of our soul, but Jesus is our sufficiency, because He cares for us, even as we walk through these uncertain days. And, it is in response to this unmerited favor we have received from God, that we offer our all to God.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bid’st me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come! I come!
Just as I am, poor, wretched, blind;
Sight, riches, healing of the mind;
Yes, all I need, in Thee to find,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
Just as I am, Thy love unknown
Has broken every barrier down;
Now, to be Thine, yea, Thine alone,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come
Charlotte Elliot (1789 – 1871) Hymn: Just as I am (hymnal.net)