More than Enough

Recently I was translating part of Genesis 3 and as I did so I was struck by the conversation between the woman and the snake.  The snake is telling her of all the things that the tree will give her if she eats of its fruit.  The whole time the snake is convincing her of one thing, she's not enough.  It's a lie.  She was created in the image of God just as man was.  Another book even describes Eve as the pinnacle of creation, God's final creative act that completed creation.  Yet, the snake convinces her that she isn't enough, that there is something that she lacks.  Since that time, this thought or feeling of inadequacy has been passed down to every one of us.  The message may not always be communicated verbally, but is nonetheless communicated clearly:  we aren't smart enough, attractive enough, athletic enough, successful enough.  The message comes in loud and clear from family, friends, teachers, professors, employers, and the media.  We aren't enough.

Many of us have been able to see the lie for what it is and have accepted our identity as being made in the image of God and dearly loved by him.  Not only are we enough, we are of immense worth and value.  Yet despite all of that, there are moments where these thoughts creep in and we're suddenly back in the garden feeling inadequate and insecure.  We carry this baggage around everywhere we go and it infiltrates our conversations and relationships on a routine basis.  As we interact with others, we desire so greatly to be seen as enough that we posture ourselves and attempt to hide our weaknesses while overemphasizing our strengths.  We live wounded lives and thus have wounded and broken relationships.

Something has to be done though.  Too much is at stake here.  When people feel like this, they are losing sight of the identity they have as being made in the image of the holy, sovereign Creator of Heaven and Earth.  They are buying into the lies that cause them to search outside of God for their identity, which leads only to discontentment.  So what is it that we must do as Christ followers?  I was reading from Chasing Francis the other day (a book that I highly recommend to everyone), and I came across the quote, "All ministry comes from the ragged edges of our own pain."  You see it is only by understanding our own brokenness that we are able to help others with theirs.  By seeing how we are healed, we are able to offer healing.  Jesus said, "Do to others as you would have them do to you." (Luke 6:31).  The things that we long for, this is what we must do for others.  We must show others that they are enough, that they are worth our time and are far more important than this week's assignment or this particular task.  That they are indeed an image bearer of the Creator.  Jesus spent his earthly ministry restoring dignity to others, to show them that they are enough, that they are dearly loved.  If we are truly going to follow Jesus, we must do the same.  We must awake the beauty that lies inside each person and help them to see their priceless worth.  We must be courageous and risk our own fragility in order that we may make others strong.  When we do that, we begin to see that we too are image bearers of Christ and we begin to see that we are not fragile at all, but indeed powerful beyond measure.  To close I will leave you with this quote by Marianne Williamson, who says it best:

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. 

Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. 

It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. 

We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? 

Actually, who are you not to be? 

You are a child of God.

 Your playing small does not serve the world. 

There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. 

We are all meant to shine, as children do. 

We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. 

It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. 

And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. 

As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.