Set ApartSample

Day Two: Nothing to Prove

When I say you are enough, I’m not trying to inflate your self-esteem or puff you up. Instead, I am pointing you to the eternal truth that, because of Jesus’s sacrifice for your sins and based on your confession of him as Lord of your life, you have nothing to prove. You are unconditionally loved and accepted. Scripture tells us that we can do nothing apart from Christ, but that in him we can do all things (John 15:5; Philippians 4:13). 

In Jesus, you are enough. 

As a child and young adult, I lived in fear, trying everything to earn people’s love, or at least to keep them from being angry with me. Over and over, I thought, “If I do this, they’ll love me.” It seemed to me that there were endless conditions to love. But that’s not the way God our heavenly Father parents or loves us. If you’re a daughter or a son of the King of kings, you are free. You don’t have to hide anything or pretend to be someone you’re not. 

I wonder if Mary felt this sweetness of being a beloved, set-apart daughter as she sat at Jesus’s feet. I imagine joy filled her from just being with him. His presence was a rare treat, and she wanted to soak it up! She had finally found love that accepted her perfectly, brokenness and all. 

Remember, the New Testament wasn’t written yet, so Mary couldn’t just open a Bible and read the Gospel stories. All she had in that moment was Jesus, and she chose to soak in every word he spoke. She was like the righteous man in Psalm 1, “whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.” She delighted in the words of Jesus. And I bet that long after Jesus left, she lay awake thinking about his teachings, replaying his words as she drifted off to sleep. His words were her life. 

My life changed when I discovered my worth does not come from the things I do or don’t do. My worth is in what Jesus did for me on the cross. My identity is rooted in his Word. You can know and live in this truth too. 

How would you view your day today differently if you truly believed you don’t have anything to prove?