God’s Not Impressed With You

God’s not impressed with you. Hear me when I say this. The resume’ that you are trying to build will not hold up with Him.

You cannot win His affection, nor can you earn good status.

Maybe you’ve strived your whole life to do your best, to be a good person. You’ve given up your time and talents to give to others. You’ve worked hard and honest to get to where you are today. You’ve faithfully attended church on Sundays and other events throughout the week. Maybe you’ve had people telling you how good you are your whole life.

If that’s the case you’re not alone. That’s my story, too. I struggle with feeling good, with looking at all the things that I’ve done and turning to God in expectation of acknowledgement. But God’s not impressed with you, nor is He impressed with me.

The truth is that we cannot fulfill the Law, only God can. He is not impressed with us outside of the work of His Son.

It seems to be this truth of the Gospel that is so often left out.

The reason Jesus came in the first place is because we could not. Jesus came to save us because we could not save ourselves.

We were given the Law and yet we could not fulfill it. We were made aware of His expectations and yet we could not meet them.

God’s expectation is Perfect. No flaw, no sin of any kind. We, friend, are not that.

It’s tough to wrestle with because the world tells us one thing while the Bible tells us another. But if we are to call ourselves Christian then it is God’s Word we believe over the words of others.

No one is good except God alone.

And you, my friend, are not God. No matter how hard you try, no matter how good you may seem, you still fall short of the glory of God. We all do.

The reality is there are only two camps in life, Jesus and everyone else. By calling ourselves Christians we are publicly stating our great need, our understanding of the cross, because it was for that reason Jesus came: to die.

We are in great debt to God. We are not deserving of anything. What we hold to God is mere filth in light of His glory and holiness.

If you don’t understand this than you are missing a HUGE aspect of who God is.

God is perfect. You are not.

God is good. You are not.

God is holy. You are not.

God is loving. You are not.

God is pure. You are not.

Our attempts of good are still plagued with sin and filth.

Even if we have not committed murder but have been angry we have broken the Law. Even if we have not committed adultery but have wanted someone or looked at someone longingly we have broken the Law.

Even if we have thought ourselves good we have broken the law, because we have put ourselves up as God and as it is written, “You shall have no other gods.”

We are all lawbreakers, deserving of full punishment. But that’s the good news, the Gospel. In light of our brokenness, in light of our unlawfulness, God rich in mercy sent His Son to take our place, to pay for our sins on the cross.

It was there that Jesus poured out His blood to atone for our sins, all of them, past, present and future.

Christ the perfect, holy son of God humbled himself to human form being broken, bloodied and shamed taking all of our sin, shame and guilt, and canceled our debt.

We are no longer in debt to God, but freed by God to live a new life in Him.

Why?

Because He is good. Because He is merciful. Because He is just. Because He is God.

And we are His children, covered in the blood of the Lamb of God.

Now when God sees us He sees His perfect Son who paid for all of our filth. The resume’ we now carry says one word: Jesus.

Thank the Lord, God is not impressed with you or with me. The Lord wants more for us, He wants to give us Himself so that we might enjoy His goodness, His love, His mercy and kindness. And that my friend is Good News!

So in the wake of Easter be reminded of what God has done for you, what you could not do for yourself and instead of focusing on your sin or your perceived goodness, focus on the Almighty God who loves you beyond measure.

The Good News is you can’t, but He did and now you are His forever. Amen.

 

Sarah is a daughter of the King, saved by His abundant grace, growing in His love. She is a wife, a teacher of little souls, a worship leader, a writer a recovering perfectionist and a lover of shoes. Her blog —Ark in the Desert— exists to expose the real and raw of her life and heart to help encourage and build up. You can follow her on Pinterest, Instagram or Facebook.

 

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5 Comments

  1. What a great reminder. As someone who started attending church at a month old and who has served in various capacities, it can be so easy getting caught up in earning more of God’s love – when He gave us the whole enchilada to begin with. What freedom there is not striving all the time, but instead abiding. My word for this year is Enough – as in God is enough and it is only because HE is enough that I can be enough. Thanks for sharing this!

  2. Oh how I love this blog!! Thank you for this one.. I needed to read every single word.
    God is so good.. Amen

  3. I love your blog. You have so many truths from God that I need. You have been part of my daily devotion for a few months now. All of a sudden I can’t find the bible study plan that I followed through Lent and the followup to that. Things look different and I can’t seem to find what I’m needing as I’ve grown accustomed to. Any thoughts on where I go to find my daily devotion plan I was so enjoying that followed the Lent plan?

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