Do I have enough money?

Am I enough as a parent?

Is my job enough?

Do I have enough sex?

Are my kids enough?

Am I enough?

The more I talk with people I am convinced we are all on quests to be enough. Enoughness drives the human experience, and being enough shapes how we view our success and failure. Failure to measure up to one’s self imposed enoughness often leads to a deep sense of inadequacy, depression, hopelessness, and even suicide.

Even in religion, or perhaps particularly in religion, the plague of enoughness runs rampant. While sitting beside the dying I have heard many say, “I hope (or I think) I was good enough.”

The good news of Jesus is that we are not enough, but Jesus is enough on our behalf. When you find rest in the enoughness of Jesus the secondary issues of life become just that… secondary. These aspects of life aren’t necessarily bad, but they are not enough! Lasting significance will not be found in your financial goals, family reputation, vocational achievement, sexuality, political affiliation, or any other pursuit you believe will give you the significance and identity you crave. Within the human heart lies a desire to prove oneself through any means possible, and all of us have a tendency to make secondary pursuits our primary target for worth, security, community, significance, and enoughness.

A king in the Bible tried to find enoughness apart from God and ended up writing a book called Ecclesiastes where he elaborates the meaningless vanity of these pursuits. Sadly, it seems people are content to ignore the tide of historical lessons and pursue the experiment of enoughness apart from God.

The good news reminds us that if we have Jesus, we have enough. YOU are enough if you are in him. You will likely fall short in your area of pursuing enoughness, but you can rest well knowing that your failures are met with eternal success by faith in Jesus. When other parents belittle you, remember that in Christ you are enough. When money fails, remember that in Christ you have enough. When your promotion falls through, remember that in God’s sight you are fully enough! When your sexuality grips you, remember that the pleasure available in Christ is enough. When you doubt your worth remember that God in heaven looked at you, all of you, and said your value was enough to send his son to die on your behalf. You are enough.