Enough

The other day, I was making lunch when our 6-year-old asked the question someone always asks around noontime, "What are we having for lunch?"

"Egg salad sandwiches," I told her.  (Because the day after Easter, what else are you gonna do with all those hard-boiled eggs?)

"Yummy!  What are we having with it?"

For some reason, this response vexed me.  Isn't it enough that we're having one of your favorite meals??  Why do you need more??

"We don't need to have anything with it," I answered, "We can have the sandwiches all by themselves."

Laughing, "Nuh-uh!  We have to have vegetables or something!"

"No, we don't!!  We're just having sandwiches.  You don't have to have anything with it."

I was frustrated by her lack of gratefulness, her demand for more.  But then it hit me: why am I blaming her?  She's been trained to think this way.  We live in a "with it" culture.  We can't simply have, we must have "with it".

We can't just have the salary...we have to have the bonus and benefits to go with it.

We can't just have the blessed marriage...we have to have the fancy house and full bank account to go with it.

We can't just have kids with character and Christ-centered hearts...we have to have sports stars and valedictorians to go with it.

We can't just have the car...we have to have all the extra features to go with it.

We can't just have the inherent beauty God created us with...we have to have makeup and expensive clothes and colored hair and steroid-built muscles to go with it.

And heaven forbid we have just the hamburger...we have to have fries to go with it.

"With it."  Our culture lives on it.  Thrives on it.  Dies by it.  We live every day seeking to squeeze every ounce of "with it" out of life.  And it kills us.  Because there's always something more to have "with it".  But the worst part is...

......we do the same thing to Jesus.

We won't just have Jesus.

We have to have works to go with it.
We have to have evidence to go with it.
We have to have a ministry to go with it.
We have to have "our" church to go with it.
We have to have rules to go with it.
We have to have happiness to go with it.
We have to have _________ to go with it.

The disciples did the same thing.

"Phillip said, 'Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.'"  (John 14:8)

I think what Phillip is saying is, "Jesus, it's great that we can see You and all, but we need something more.  Could You show us the Father to go with it?"

"Jesus answered: 'Don’t you know Me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.'"  (v. 9)

I think Jesus is saying, "You don't need anything to go with it!!  I. Am. Enough."

He had just finished telling them, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."  (v. 6)

Not through works.
Not through evidence.
Not through ministry.
Not through the church.
Not through the rules.
Not through happiness.

Nothing with it.  Just Jesus.  He's the only way to the Father.  He sustains all things (Hebrews 1:3).  In Him all things hold together (Colossians 1:17).  His grace is sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9).  Just Jesus.

We must let go of our need to have "with it".  Because our need for "with it" is ultimately a lack of faith in His sufficiency.

Paul says we must not only quit seeking to have "with it", we must also let go of the things we already have in order to fully know Him. 

"But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him."  (Philippians 3:7-9)

We have to have "with it"?  Rubbish!  All we need is to gain Christ and be found in Him.  He is enough.