In my last post, I talked about our inheritance in Christ. For me, Colossians 2:10 is one of the most meaningful elements of my inheritance in Christ: “In Him you have been made complete.” That word “complete” carries with it the idea of being perfect. In God’s eyes, you and I are perfect. There’s nothing we can do to make ourselves more acceptable to God. It’s already been done to the max by Him wrapping us in His robe of righteousness! And because we had nothing to do with it–other than asking Jesus Christ to forgive our sins and surrender to His Lordship–it can’t be taken away.
This ingredient of our inheritance replaces the feeling that we are unacceptable to God unless we accomplish “things.” (Tweet that!) It is particularly important to me because of my childhood beliefs that I had to be good enough and do well enough to be acceptable to God. Even as a Christian, I’ve struggled with thoughts like:
“I haven’t had my devotions today; I didn’t spend enough time with God. He can’t be pleased with me.”
“I don’t love that person like I should. God wants me to love completely. He’s most likely stopped loving me because of it.”
“My heart isn’t wholly devoted to God. See how I keep making wrong choices? There’s no hope for me.”
These condemning accusations have robbed me of peace. (Tweet that!) Yet God has continually reminded me, “My daughter, you are already complete in My eyes. Relax and let me work in you. Yes, I’ll need your cooperation, but stop thinking you must perform perfectly for Me to love you without reservation. Even if you could complete all sorts of spiritual feats, I still couldn’t love you more than I do right now.”
That kind of total acceptance has helped me to feel more secure and loved. Little by little, my need to accomplish has been replaced with a deep sense of God’s unconditional acceptance.
If you are still feeling like you need to perform to earn or deserve God’s love, tell yourself the truth: “I am complete and perfect, not because I achieve certain goals, but because Jesus’ robe of righteousness is wrapped around me.”
