Have I Done Enough?

Facing Our Finitude

We live in a fallen world. Sin has affected everything from our heads to our hearts, from our body chemistry to sociopolitical dynamics. Because of this, we sometimes wrongly attribute all our problems to sin, when in fact they are often a matter of running up against the limits inherent in being finite creatures instead of being God. We are, by God’s good design, finite.

Recognizing and rejoicing in our particular kind of finitude is a massive challenge, especially in the affluent, driven West. This shows up not just in our unrealistic expectations about how much we can accomplish in a day but also in our failure to value rest and slow-growing relationships. This problem takes many forms, from inappropriate expectations placed on our children to dehumanizing practices in the workforce. Christians often burn out from overcommitment to church activities and ministries, or they go to the opposite extreme, never volunteering for anything because they fear the unending demands that will come once they have committed. Too often the options are either try to do everything or simply do nothing.

So how can we proceed? I want us to take time to carefully think about our creatureliness. Doing so will reveal limits, dependence, love, and reliance on the grace of God, which will lead to worship. We will examine the joy of being a creature and the freedom of resting on the promises of the Creator. We will question harmful and unrealistic ideals and begin to appreciate the messiness of our complex lives.

As we do this, the following central concepts will guide our reflections:

1. We are not under any requirement to be infinite—infinity is reserved for God alone. Rather, in and through our creaturely limits, we are called to love God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love our neighbor as ourselves. In other words, loving both God and neighbor falls completely within the range of creaturely finitude.

This takes us to the second guiding observation:

2. We need to stop asking (or feeling that we should ask) for God’s forgiveness when we can’t do everything, and we need to ask for forgiveness for ever imagining we could!