In “Eternal or ‘Good Enough’ Life,” Alex reminds us that although we grow at God’s pace we must not become complacent with a good enough life. Instead, we should strive for the contented, eternal life which Jesus offers.
Good enough.
I say that way too often.
When my dad and I are working on a building project and we get to a point where it’s all roughly put together, we look at each other and say, “Good enough.”
When I’m doing an assignment for a class and I get to a point where I feel like I’m finished and have nothing more to add, “Good enough.”
When me and/or my fiancé are cooking and we wonder whether or not the food is finished cooking, “Good enough, I’m hungry.”
When I’m evaluating whether my life reflects the likeness of Christ and as I’m thinking about the situations where maybe I was kind but not Christ-like, “Good enough.”
Am I satisfied? Filled to the fullness of the measure of Christ, living out of the abundance of joy and love which Christ died so that I might receive as my reality?
Well, my life is good enough, right? For these last two examples, “good enough” is not even close.
Consider Paul’s words in Romans 6:20-22, “When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. ”
“What fruit…?”
It’s almost as if Paul is saying, “What point is there to a life that continues to indulge in a lifestyle which leads to a perishing end?” Perhaps, I’m committed to receiving forgiveness and believing in God. But if I’m still going to choose to live in sin—to prefer a lifestyle that is off the narrow path which leads to life (Matthew 7:14), “the end of those things is death.”
Why does Paul call us “slaves to God” (v.22a)? I thought we received not a spirit of slavery (Romans 8:15), for it is for freedom that Christ has set us free (Galatians 5:1)?
The problem with a view of freedom that gives us the right to say “good enough” is that the evaluation of righteousness is placed under our own self criteria. We decide what a “good life” is. But that is not true of eternal life—God’s life.
A free land is free because it has purposeful parameters which allow for a sense of order and safety. Ravi Zacharias said, “If freedom is absolute, it’s another word for anarchy. Freedom has its boundaries.” Sin came about through a choice which violated the Word of God. Being a slave of God seems to be a choice illustration to contrast the results of being a slave of sin. The reality of all our lives is that we are under a lordship, but it’s whoever our lord is that will determine our trajectory. There’s no purpose to life in sin, but there is fruit—purpose—in God.
The fruit of being a slave of God “leads to sanctification” (v.22b). Sanctification is the process whereby we receive eternal life. Holiness is perfected in the person of Jesus Christ, whose likeness the Holy Spirit forms us into. And holiness is that standard of being which God ordains, not us.
Good enough is that mindset of being neither hot nor cold. My life isn’t bad but it’s also not as good as it could be. To help make a clearer distinction: Contentment and complacency distinguish living in eternal life from a good enough mindset.
Complacency is that “good enough” mindset. A life in sin is constantly looking for satisfaction and fulfillment but never finds it. Contentment, at least the kind Paul talks about in Philippians 4, is the mindset which knows that I have “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1:3) because God created my life for a purpose and knows what my life needs to accomplish that purpose. Complacency is worldly, Contentment is heavenly.
This is a lot to take in, I know. But God tells us through His Scripture that new life in Him necessitates a transformed mind. Not all the time does a shift in lifestyle need to occur, it’s a shift in mindset, or worldview—the lens through which we see the world, that will result in a changed life. Going back to sanctification, that process whereby we receive eternal life, God is changing our minds to be like Jesus (Philippians 2:5) so that we will not only live like He does, but be like He is. (Ephesians 4:23-24).
Do you think Jesus was complacent? That He was satisfied with “good enough”?
His mind was ever on the redemption of His people and the world. He even went to the cross so we could experience eternal life—the same reality Jesus knew even as a human in an evil world. How far am I, are you, willing to go to know the fulfillment of this life?
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about when I get to the end of this life because right now I’ve been in a lot of beginnings. When I get to the end of my life—career, ministry, family, marriage—what do I want to have said I did? “Eh, good enough.” NO! Because the response we evaluate our lives with is what we will be bringing before God on that Day!
I encourage you to take 10 minutes with yourself, knowing God is with you in the room, to evaluate this dire concept: Eternal or “Good Enough” Life? Which is my mindset? Our mindset is the hinge upon which our life’s fulfillment swings.
I leave you with the words of the Apostle Paul to young Timothy:“I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching…always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:1-2, 5; emphasis added).
Author:
Hey, everybody! My name is Alex! I have a growing passion for the Scriptures, being changed by them as they fill my mind and heart. Through teaching and preaching, I desire to help other believers know the abounding richness of the Scriptures for themselves. Read more of my writing here.
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