Is Jesus really enough?
We say he is. We say he is all we need. But is he? Sure -when everything is going our way, but what about…
- When you are away at college feeling homesick without true friends yet?
- When there is roommate conflict and coursework stress?
- When there are new responsibilities to navigate, alone?
- When the world says your worth is tied to your Greek affiliation, your appearance, your social life, to hooking up & whatever else?
- When you wonder if you made the right decision or if your new “home” will ever feel like home?
And for the rest of us who might sometimes wish we could go back to college because adulting is hard, do we believe Jesus is enough…
- When you, or a child, is struggling, sick or suffering?
- When your child is the one who leaves for college and you are left with a huge void?
- When you’re struggling financially and it seems you will never be secure?
- When you have lost hope of things ever changing in your marriage, or with a wayward child?
- When the suffering, tragedies and political landscape of this world overwhelm you?
How easy it is in those moments to not see Jesus as enough. Instead we fix our eyes on what we think will make everything better: comfort, ease, happiness, family, friends, familiarity, change in circumstances, greener grass. Of course, these things may make life better, but ultimately will not be enough.
The God shaped hole in our soul can only be satisfied by him.
Only Jesus can fill our thirst. Remember the story of the woman at the well? Jesus came to her and asked for a drink. When she didn’t understand why he woud come to her – a promiscuous woman from Samaria – he replies, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have give you living water.”
Aren’t we just like her? We don’t see him in such a way that we believe he is life – that he is enough. To know he is enough, we have to get our story straight.
Living out of the true story of who Jesus is and who we are in him is the only way we can confidentally say (or sing) “Jesus is all I need.” That is why we need to constantly hear about him – his work and worth for us; not what we need to do for him.
From Genesis to Revelation, the entire Bible is the one unfolding story of our conquering King. The One who lived the most horrific life of suffering and rejection, all without sin, so that he could fulfill perfectly all that God’s law required. Not only did he accomplish what we cannot, but he came as man to fully identify with us in our humanity. This means he understands what we go through and has compassion on us in our suffering and sin.
And that’s just half of it! What happened next is the great identity exchange – He became all of our sin, so we could have all of his righteousness. And because he served as our atoning sacrifice, God accepts us as his beloved children – viewing us holy as he was holy.
This is who Jesus is for us and who we are in him. Because he did not back out of his mission during his lonely, painful days on earth, or abandon us at the cross, we can be assured he will not leave us now. He is the only one who is enough; the only one who satisfies what our soul needs most – the security and love of the Father.
My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;
all other ground is sinking sand,
all other ground is sinking sand.When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on his unchanging grace;
in every high and stormy gale,
my anchor holds within the veil.His oath, his covenant, his blood
support me in the whelming flood;
when all around my soul gives way,
he then is all my hope and stay.When he shall come with trumpet sound,
O may I then in him be found,
dressed in his righteousness alone,
faultless to stand before the throne.
No matter what we face or where we find ourselves, may we forsake all the false gods we think will give us life and satisfaction and see Jesus truly is enough. No matter what.
