Satisfied With Jesus

Just Three Verses:

Satisfied with Jesus

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,
Ephesians 4:1

…so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God;
Colossians 1:10

…so that you would walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
I Thessalonians 2:12

As many know, I have a background in music. Specifically church music. As a result lyrics quite often nail me between the eyes and stick with me for long periods of time. For the last few months the text of a hymn has haunted me. The words and music were both written by the famed hymn writer B. B. McKinney. The title of the hymn is Satisfied with Jesus:

I am satisfied with Jesus,
He has done so much for me:
He has suffered to redeem me,
He has died to set me free.

He is with me in my trials,
Best of friends of all is He;
I can always count on Jesus,
Can He always count on me?

I can hear the voice of Jesus,
Calling out so pleadingly,
“Go and win the lost and straying”:
Is He satisfied with me?

When my work on earth is ended,
And I cross the mystic sea,
Oh, that I could hear Him saying,
“I am satisfied with thee.”

I am satisfied, I am satisfied,
I am satisfied with Jesus,
But the question comes to me,
As I think of Calvary,
Is my Master satisfied with me?

The last three lines of the refrain are what nail me to the wall. The question about our Christianity is not whether we are satisfied with the peace and grace that are so freely given, but is our Master satisfied with us? Are we walking in a manner that pleases God?

Three separate times, in three different epistles, Paul uses the phrase translated, “…walk in a manner worthy…”:

• In Ephesians 4:1 he urges believers to “…walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called….”
• In Colossians 1:10 he again urges “…walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God…”
• In I Thessalonians 2:12 he urges believers to “…walk in a manner worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.

So as the hymn asks, “…the question comes to me, as I think of Calvary, is my Master satisfied with me?” If I am to be honest I must confess that far too often the answer to that question is a resounding “No”. When I ponder this many times I am quite angry with myself and often discouraged.

But is this the point of the hymn? My answer to that question would also be, no. The point of the hymn is not to make us feel dejected because we have failed to live up to the standard set by Christ. That is the whole point. We desperately need Christ to provide salvation on our behalf. We are unable to live up to the standard on our own and whenever we attempt to do this in our own strength we will utterly fail. The point of the hymn is to drive us to our knees in gratitude for the gift of God’s grace that has been poured out on us. As Paul writes in Romans 5:5 – 6, “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”

Here are the facts:

1. We are in desperate need of salvation.
2. We cannot earn salvation on our own.
3. Jesus has provided the one and only way of salvation through His death on the cross.
4. We can never do enough or live righteously enough to repay the debt that Christ has paid on our behalf.

Does this mean that we can simply live any way we choose and still be called by the name of Christ? No. If we have genuinely received the indescribable gift of grace and salvation, how could we possibly thumb our noses at what that gift cost our Savior?

Though we cannot repay the debt (nor should we try) we must strive to “walk in a manner worthy” of the One who has called us and saved us from the eternal consequences of our own actions.

May His grace continually motivate us to reflect the love that we have been shown. So that in the end He may look at us and say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

God Loves You...More Than You May Think

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”

John 3:16 – 18

“God loves you just the way you are,” is a true but incomplete statement. It is true that God loves every person on earth just the way they are, but He does not stop there. God loves them so He sent Jesus Christ to redeem them and bring them into relationship with Him. The cover of Max Lucado’s book Just Like Jesus has the statement in its true and complete form, “God loves you just the way you are, but He refuses to leave you that way.”

John 3:16 is one of the most treasured verses in Scripture, but many people do not realize that when we accept His gift of love and salvation that we must be changed. Not in order to receive salvation, but as a result of receiving it.

Here is a paraphrase of John 3:16 – 17:
God loved the world (people, His creations) so much that He sent His only Son so that the people (every human who has ever lived) He loves so dearly would have a way to be reconciled (not perish, die in their sin) to Him (eternal life). Jesus’ coming was not a sign that we (humanity) were bad and needed to be punished. Jesus’ coming was a sign that God loved us so much that He wanted to remove the condemnation that we had brought on ourselves.

When some people hear the name Jesus they think of judgment and intolerance, but they do not know this Jesus the way I know Him. Jesus is the One who has made intimate relationship with God possible. He is the One who has saved me from the condemnation that I so rightfully deserved. As a result of the gift that I have been given I am moved to behave more like my Savior. Sadly, many people do not wish to change. They want to take their “fire insurance” policy and be on their way. This, however, is not possible. As long as our lives are lived “our way” we have not received God’s matchless gift of salvation.