#sufficency

"God alone satisfies." ~ Thomas A' Kempis

I read this seemingly simple quote and did not give it a second thought. "Of course God satisfies", was my thought. I trust God with the salvation of my soul, of course I rest in Him for my value and encouragement. Yet, as I sat it became obvious that my total satisfaction did not come from God alone. I find satisfaction in my relationships with others. I find my value in how much I have in my bank account. My security comes from my job. My spiritual value comes from what role I play in my church.

These are all honorable pursuits but the issue comes when I start to depend on them for how I view myself. All of these pursuits will eventually fail me. My friends will betray me, my bank account will one day sit at $0, I will be laid off from my job or retire and my church will one day go in direction I do not feel is healthy. So as I sit reading this quote from Kempis I see that there are many things which I seek to satisfy me when all along I should be resting in my Father for my everything.

The apostle Paul draws a line in the sand for Christians & where they find their hope:

"But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ"

~Philippians 3:7-8

Paul draws a very firm line for us to follow. There are things in my life that may be useful, but they provide me no true meaning....no true satisfaction...no eternal impact.  In fact in verse 8 the word "rubbish" literally means "poop". I count the things of this world as "poop" in view of the surpassing greatness of Christ. I ought wash myself of the things of this world. I don't bury myself in the things of this world...I mean who takes a bath in poop? Its a great picture Paul draws for us here and his emphasis is this: the things of this world are undoubtedly a part of our life, but how much value do you place on them?

Is Christ alone enough for you or do you need Him & something/someone else?