I’ve been subconsciously nursing a lie lately. It circles around being “qualified” to proclaim Jesus.
Qualified.
Don’t get me wrong. I know grace. I know that I was once a complete wreck, running from Jesus, and He drew near. I know that it’s by grace I’ve been saved. Purely. Wholly. Completely. I know this. I know it deep down.
But, somewhere along the way — between that radical drawing-near 18 years ago and now — I’ve started to believe that my choices and my circumstances, neatly ordered in a pretty row, actually qualify me to proclaim the Lord. And that, my friend, is a lie.
Granted, there’s a huge place for self-reflection and walking in step with His Spirit. Yes! For our good and His glory. But even the most self-reflection and the most obedient choices a person could muster along the way, don’t qualify us to declare the Lord. He qualifies us to declare Him.
What then? Are we to sin because we are not under the law
but under grace? By no means!
(see Romans 6)
He qualifies us.
The only qualification for declaring the good news of Jesus is Jesus. He draws us near and reveals Himself. He forgives us and seals us and redeems us. It isn’t our perfectly manicured lives that qualify us. And when we start to quietly, even subconsciously, believe that our “good” works have anything to do with our qualification, we’ve slipped back into the law. And the law can’t redeem.
It’s by grace — and grace alone — that we’re saved. It’s by grace — and grace alone — that we’re sanctified. It’s by grace — and grace alone — that we’re qualified to open our mouths and say to the world, “Jesus is the only hope!”
Yes, we have messy parts of our lives. There are things (many, many, most things) outside of our control. There are aspects of our stories that tempt us to think we’re not qualified to proclaim the Lord. But the truth is, Jesus is the qualifier — Jesus — not all the precisely polished moments we try desperately to manufacture.
It’s called grace. And it’s truly glorious.
