Think you are good? Believe you are righteous? Enough?
I played on our high school basketball team. I believe that our 1967 Two Rivers Pirates team had the best record in school history. I was the point guard and my job was primarily to run the plays and get the ball to my teammates. I knew I could shoot, but that was not my primary role. I needed to pass the ball to Baker, Miller, and Hamilton when they were open. I only averaged about 12 points per game. I thought I was good; in fact, I knew I was far better than I really was!
After high school, my shooting and offensive aggressiveness improved a lot. But my games were limited to college intramurals and church leagues. I once scored 45 points against a church league team from Muncie, Indiana that was making a summer tour. I was confident that I was really really good, and that Vanderbilt was missing out by not having me on the Commodore team!
At least until…Bill Justus. Bill had been an All American at The University of Tennessee. A team we were playing in a church league game recruited Justus to come and play for them. It was my assignment to guard Bill Justus. He scored 48 points against me in a 32 minute game. That ended any thoughts I had of being good enough to play SEC basketball!
I have different self evaluations for my various life roles. If we’re honest, we all have varying assessments of how good we are as spouses, parents, providers, grandparents, leaders, investors, coaches, etc., etc. When people tell us that we are good in these roles, we usually embrace those accolades. I do. I have no problem accepting it when people, especially those close to me, tell me that I’m good at something. Too often, I gloat, whether or not I honestly agree.
Why is it that I have difficulty accepting that God sees me as good…sees me as pure, as righteous? I am assured that, because I have accepted Christ, goodness and righteousness are counted as mine. Why is this truth so hard for me to accept?
Because… I. know. me. I know how I behave sometimes. I know my reactions; my thoughts and my inclinations that reveal how the needed transformation of my mind is far from complete. I have plenty of evidence that tells me that I am often not very good, and certainly not close to righteous.
How do you see yourself? Can you truly believe that because of your faith in Christ, you are good…you are righteous in God’s eyes?
The promise is there.
Paul expresses it this way: “…not having any righteousness of my own derived from [my obedience to] the Law and its rituals, but [possessing] that [genuine righteousness] which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.“. Philippians 3:9 AMP
And, the same way that God considered Abraham as righteous because of his faith, Paul assures us: “ but for our sake also—to whom righteousness will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead—“ Romans 4:24 AMP
So, I really don’t have to believe that I am righteous (since I know that I’m not). I just have to believe God’s promises that He sees me as righteous because of what Christ did for me and my faith in Him. Wow!
I ran across this prayer recently and I now recite it often to help me believe and accept the gift of righteousness.
“O God, I pray for a realization of my condition in your eyes. Help me to see and know myself as you see and know me. Give me clear insight into my relationship with you…Give me assurance that I belong to you. Remove from me those nagging doubts and needless fears that I may not be good enough…”. Norman Shawchuck
Bill Justus proved that I was not a really good basketball player. But no one can take away the assurance…that the faltering, far-from-perfect me is righteous in the sight of The Only One Who Matters.
