So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority. - Colossians 2:10 NLT
Have you ever struggled with the idea that you’re not good enough to live for God? I have. I came to know Jesus when I was in college, and I believed that He loved me unconditionally. I believed that there wasn’t anything I could do to earn His salvation and forgiveness for my sins. But I often wrestled with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy about living in a way that pleased my Father in heaven.
I could make myself pretty miserable, beating myself up over what I did wrong or didn’t do well enough.
The thing is, I was paying attention to wrong ideas about what it meant to be a Christian, ideas from the world and from my own nonsensical understanding of things. Paul warns the Colossians about this in verse 8.
Don't let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ. - Colossians 2:8 NLT
My thoughts were captured by the idea that, once I had been saved by Jesus, I should be able to do things right on my own. My error was in relying on myself. I need to instead rely on Jesus, in whom is all the fullness of God (Colossians 2:9). Jesus is all I need and He makes me complete. The word for complete here is rich with meaning. It is the idea of being filled to the brim or of lacking nothing. Through my union with Jesus, I am filled with all I need to serve God well; I am up to any task He gives me when I rely on Him.
When I finally understood this lesson, most of those feelings of insecurity and inadequacy went away. There’s a beautiful freedom that comes when these anxious feelings are replaced by understanding. Recognizing that I am completely filled up by Jesus gives me boldness to do things I was afraid to try on my own. That’s an exciting, joyful place to be.
May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation--the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ--for this will bring much glory and praise to God. - Philippians 1:11 NLT
Think About: Are you completely filled by Jesus?
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