Jesus is enough

When Luke had the privilege of preaching in our sister church during our time in Cuba (translated by Carmen, above), he encouraged all of us that "Jesus is enough":

... The faithful example of Bartimaeus is not just in the fact that he cried out to Jesus and came to him, but it is also in his response to Jesus once he was healed.  He came to Jesus as a blind man wanting Jesus to heal him and make him see again.  Once Jesus gave him what he wanted he could have gone his own way, turned his back on Jesus and said, “Thanks, see you later!”  But Mark tells us that as soon as Bartimaeus regained his sight… he “followed Jesus on the way.” The life of faith has two parts that cannot be separated.  We come to Jesus because we need Jesus to heal us, because we need Jesus to save us… but then we also must respond to the healing touch of Jesus by following Jesus along his way.  That means for us to be available to those who might interrupt us on the way, those in need of help and healing.  Those in our communities whom others might pass by, but Jesus would be sure to notice.  It means taking the time to respond to those who are crying out around us.  It means following Jesus in the way of the cross, the ultimate expression of God’s love for the world—a way of self-giving and self-offering for the sake of others.

And what do we need in order to follow Jesus in this way?  Nothing more than Christ himself.  Jesus is enough.  Jesus is enough not only for our salvation, but the mercy of Jesus is enough to give us the strength to rise and respond to his calling.  The grace of Jesus is enough to open our eyes so that we can see the world and see our brothers and sisters the way Jesus sees them.  And the love of Jesus is enough to empower us to follow him and share his love with the world.  We have no reason to wait and no reason to fear—Jesus is always available, and Jesus is enough.

Yesterday, Luke preached here in Libertyville at our Thanksgiving Service, illuminating Matthew 6:25-34, Joel 2:21-27, and Psalm 126. While "today's trouble is enough for today," he exhorted us not to let fear prevent us from living the lives to which God has called us. Here are just a few of his Spirit-inspired words:

We are to respond with gratitude to the great things God has done for us, and turn our attentions and energies toward doing great things for God’s kingdom in this world.  This is why we are told “not to worry”, this is why we need to jettison fear.  Max Lucado continues in his book, saying, “When fear shapes our lives, safety becomes our god. When safety becomes our god, we worship the risk-free life. Can the safety-lover do anything great? Can the risk-averse accomplish noble deeds? For God? For others? No. The fear-filled cannot love deeply. Love is risky. They cannot give to the poor. Benevolence has no guarantee of a return.” (Lucado 10).  ...

Surrounded by all sorts of troubles, bad news, losses and the attacking forces of fear, may you remember today some glimpse of God’s goodness to you, may your eyes be opened to see beyond hovering troubles to the many ways God has provided “enough for today,” may you feel today God’s Spirit well up from within you and overflow with gratitude, may you experience the freedom from fear that comes from a faith-response to God’s amazing grace, and may you reach outward in that faith and freedom with simple, risky acts of righteous defiance of fear and courageous expressions of kingdom love, for “perfect love drives out fear.” In the name of Jesus,  Amen.

I'm grateful that God prompted us to take the risk of going to Cuba. I was a bit concerned and fearful, but God provided all we needed to "reach outward in ... faith and freedom." And even more than being providers, we were the beneficiaries of "courageous expressions of kingdom love."