good enough

a few weeks ago a young boy in my class had to stay in from recess to finish an assignment. he'd been procrastinating on it until the teacher made him stay in to complete it. as you can guess, he wasn't very happy. he finished it in about 15 minutes and gave it to the teacher. she looked at it, handed it back to him, and said, "i know you can do better. try again." his shoulders slumped over, he dragged his feet back to his desk. this scene played out three times. back and forth he went from his desk to the teacher's desk, his shoulders slumping more and his feet dragging longer each time he made the trip back to his desk. finally, he stood up, walked quickly to the teacher's, and uttered four words that shocked me, the teacher, and the other teacher in the classroom.

"is this good enough?"

i'll spare you the details of the lecture he got from both teachers. one of the teachers made a really good point, though. she said, "you know, if one of my students brings me work and then ask if it's good enough, then that tells me they already know that it's not."

the rest of that day and since then, i've thought about that exchange. it reminded me, sadly, of times in my relationship with Christ. the sacrifice he made was great, and what he requires of me is very little compared to that, but still i half-heartedly fulfill my commitments. i try to get by with just reading the Bible instead of studying it. i pray on my way to school to save time in the morning. and through all of that, i ask God, "is this good enough? is this it? are you going to require any more of me?" and i can see God up in heaven shaking his head while saying, "if you have to ask me if it's good enough, what do you think the answer is?"

God used that cute little boy to convict and teach me a lesson that day. it hasn't been easy. it hasn't been pretty. but it has been a blessing.

thank you, Father, for loving me enough to not let me get away with "good enough." thank you for continuing to discipline me so that i can become an even better ambassador of you. please continue to help me as i go through this life, that i would exhibit your grace, peace and love to others, even in the worst of circumstances. i love you.