Unearned Approval

The other night I was sitting around a campfire with several of the Program and Leadership staff for summer camp.  We began singing several contemporary worship songs and we came to a song that was talking about being in love with God.  It has the line "Faithful, you are faithful, I have found nothing but Good in your heart."  I started thinking about it some more though and was envisioning Jesus saying that to me.    I think we can all agree that we want God's approval.  When we see God say, in the parable of the talents, "Well done, good and faithful servant," we long to hear God saying that to us.  I think if we're honest with ourselves we often try to somehow attain God's approval, as though if we don't do just the right thing, then we will be looked on like the wicked servant.  You see I think that while we all know that God is loving, we may often look at Him as being very stingy with His approval.  I think this is actually against what God wants for our lives.  You see God doesn't want us to do ministry for the sake of gaining His approval.  He wants us to do ministry out of our Love for Him.

Paul says that we are dead to our old selves and are made into new creations.  We have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer we that live, but Christ who lives within us.  When God looks at me, He sees Christ not myself, for Christ was put on the cross and became sin and by doing so washed me clean.  I already have God's approval because Christ dwells within me.  This unearned approval should bring with it an unshakable peace.  Here is the God of the universe and He not only loves us, but approves of us and continues to call us faithful.  This does not mean of course that we are "free" to abuse God's Grace but rather we are given the freedom to worship God out of Gratitude and Love and not out of a desire to gain approval.  I think I was really shocked by this realization, because when it hit me, I suddenly felt a strong peace.  As though this whole time of being in ministry was my attempt to earn Grace and God's approval.  When I realized that no matter what I do I still have God's approval, my work in ministry became far less about me and far more about Christ and what He is doing in my life.