A-MAZ-ING.
So I have these running shoes that I’ve had forever. Honestly. You can tell too. I’ve had them for so long that it seems as if they should be able to go out for my morning run all by themselves. But of course, that’s a ridiculous idea, right? I mean, they’re just running shoes! Some of my running shoes have been more expensive than others. Some are cuter or more functional than others. Some are more worn out and tired than others, but at the end of the day, they’re just shoes that serve me by helping me get from point A to point B, and then back again.
So why in the world am I talking about my worn-out running shoes? Well, this whole train of thought started when I saw yet another t-shirt stating, “I’m enough.” This comes from a business that I know loves the LORD and they talk about how the LORD helps us and how they are thankful to have peace and confidence through Jesus and that therefore, we’re all enough. I get it! That makes sense. The LORD DOES help us and gives us confidence. But the more I thought about it, a picture of my running shoes came to mind.
My running shoes can’t run on their own as I’ve already explained above. You could argue that I’ve trained them to. I’ve even helped them achieve some pretty cool things, like coming in the second woman in a 5K race recently (I was so excited – that was the best I’ve ever placed in a race)! But no matter how far I’ve run or how much I “train” the shoes, they’re still just that. Running shoes. I love them and they work great, some work better than others, but no one would say my shoes did a great job running that race. I may have used the shoes, but I’m the one who actually did the racing. The shoes are just a tool.
We’re much the same. Actually, we’re “Same, Same, but different” – I realize people are not nearly as simple as a pair of running shoes but just stick with me here. The LORD allows us to be a part of His story. He empowers us, He provides wisdom, He provides strength. But it’s not that He helps us out in life and then He’s hands-off since “we’ve got this” and He’s on to the next thing, leaving us to achieve wonderful things on our own. Or that He shows us how awesome He’s made us and then says, “Get to it!” That’s not the point. The point is He’s enough. We were made to glorify Him. We weren’t made to be the one focused on, either for good or bad reasons. It’s always God acting in and through us. Granted, as I mentioned earlier, we are much more important and complex than a pair of running shoes; we are made in His image, loved and redeemed. And contrary to a running shoe, each one of us can do many things without accepting Christ or not outwardly glorifying Christ but at the end of the day, all of that worldly treasure won’t be of any importance. Personally, I’d like what I do on this earth to have eternal importance, not just something that is temporary, fleeting, and inconsequential. Only treasure stored in heaven is worth anything (Matt 6:19-21), treasures which are amassed by glorifying God (i.e. giving Him the glory and not taking it for ourselves) and obeying God and His Word.
For a modern-day example, I know that Mother Teresa would never have claimed, “I’m enough.” Of all people on this earth to claim that she was enough, I think she would have had dibs. Instead, her focus wasn’t on herself at all, but on Christ. As for an old school example, I’d have to defer to Paul. I want to quote the entire chapter of Phil 3, but I’ll refrain. Just click on the link if you’d like to brush up on that particular part of the letter to the Philippians. For an abbreviated version of Phil. 3, he was the MAN! Hebrew of Hebrews. Circumcised on the 8th day. Yada yada yada. But he considered it garbage compared to knowing Jesus. I’d say he too wouldn’t have said that he was enough. But both Mother Teresa and Paul would know Who was.
It’s not that the LORD hasn’t made us in amazing and unique ways. Praise God, He has! But that’s not the point. Both awesome running shoes or tennis shoes may be able to get you across that finish line. The LORD has been known to use many different people with various gifts and abilities to accomplish incredible things. But really it’s the runner who propels those shoes that is most important in a race. That doesn’t take away from the quality of the shoe or person or whatever. But honestly, it’s all about God. He should get the glory. It’s not about us at all. He is enough. Praise His name! Let’s walk boldly, together, in that truth.
