no expectations ...

Nothing like some stimulating dinner conversation to refine one’s daily blog post …

First day back to school. It’s gonna be an interesting year for sure. So much remains to be seen. Last year, there was something so nice about jumping in mid-stream. All the schedules and procedures were already established, and I just had to go with the flow for the most part. This year, I have a much better idea of how things work, and yet there are still so many unknowns. It’s hard to perform when you don’t know what’s expected of you, and as someone who likes to perform, this is a very uncomfortable place in which to find myself.

My relationship with God is much the same. As humans, we like clear-cut expectations. Why do you think God gave us the 10 commandments? The thing is, God’s expectations are essentially impossible to meet. But don’t be discouraged. He knows. He sent Jesus to bridge the gap between us and His impossible expectations. Now His only expectation is that we stop trying and simply accept that Jesus has made a way. Ironically, this is often more difficult than all of our best efforts.

We are called to live a life of faith. Hebrews tells us that “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Romans tells us that “whatever is not from faith is sin.” Wow. That can seem a bit overwhelming. But I think it boils down to the motivation of our actions.

Do I do or not do something because I think it makes me more righteous, or because I am operating out of what I believe God has called me to, and who He says that I am? It seems that if we have more faith in God, we have both more and less faith in ourselves. We come to understand that we can’t do it on our own, and yet are empowered by the knowledge that “God has given us everything we need for living a godly life.” (2 Peter 1:3). Second Peter goes on to say, “Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.”

If we choose to keep trying of our own accord, we subject ourselves to the consequences of God’s impossible expectations. If we choose to submit our efforts to the assurance of something greater than ourselves, then our righteousness is secure.

We are in a time of God calling His people to deeper levels of faith. We want things to be cut and dry. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it. But if we knew exactly what to do, then it would cease to be faith. He simply asks that, according to His promises, we conduct ourselves with moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, patient endurance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love for everyone. If we do that – whether at home, at school, at work, or following our dreams – we can’t go wrong.