Limitations
What about my limitations?
Discovering how Jesus looks at our limitations has been one of the most joyful revelations about Him. Suppose all limitations in our lives were measured by our heights. Some of us are tall and some of us are short. In our little parable here, that would mean the tall ones are smart, talented, faithful, productive, wealthy, handsome, pretty, living in the right nation or city, or belonging to the right family. On the other hand, some of us are dull, slow, lazy, poor, plain, living in the slums, or having no family to call our own. The finished work of Jesus Christ makes all that of no account. Consider this scripture in Galatians 3, which I sometimes refer to as my Declaration of Independence from my own limitations:
“You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.”[1]
And this scripture:
"Be glad, O barren woman, who bears no children; break forth and cry aloud, you who have no labor pains; because more are the children of the desolate woman than of her who has a husband."[2]
How can these two scriptures be possible? Only by the finished work of Jesus Christ! If He is more than enough for me, when I’m short, He becomes the extra height I need. He is smart when I am dull. He is talented when I have no talent whatsoever. He is faithful when I am not. He is fast when I am slow. He is nice when I am nasty. He is rich when I am poor. He is beautiful when I am plain. He lives in the right city and nation, too. And, He has the best family in heaven and earth. And where am I? In Him! Hey, that makes me tall, smart, faithful, nice, beautiful, wealthy, and well-positioned in Him!
Looking back at our little parable about heights, which is better - to have my own height or to have His height? In the second scripture, I can see why having His height is better than having my own height. If I have no height of my own but am dependent totally on His height, I will have more in the end than if I were able to depend on myself. The scripture promises me MORE if I depend on Him rather than having it on my own. Glory!
Think of a female, barren, Greek slave in Bible times. She had no rights, absolutely none. How could Paul tell this woman that her situation is not important for her to receive the promises of God? Paul was able to boast because he knew Jesus is more powerful than her circumstances and is able to make all good things abound to her.
This fact means I can receive all the promises, too. I stand in faith, clothed in Jesus, thereby positioning myself to receive all good things. Do I have limitations? Of course I do, but I don’t live within these limitations. I live where Jesus lives. That makes me as tall as He is because, where I am weak, He is strong.[3]
Applying this practically in my life means I no longer have to live within my own limitations. I can live within His limitations.[4] And if I do so, He gets the glory for my life. Now that’s a good deal! The first time this revelation became practical for me was when I realized I had made a terrible mistake while raising my children and had really screwed up their young lives. When I took this overwhelming guilt to God, He told very gently that if I would trust the finished work of His Son in my life and in the lives of my children, He would make their lives as though a perfect mother had raised them! Now there’s a picture of redemption! Now, years later, as I look at my amazing children, I realize my Father has made good on His promise. Glory!
Jesus is More Than Enough
Jesus truly is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end, the Genesis and the Revelation of our lives. He is our all in all. Every stage of our walk with Him helps us realize we are more and more dependent on Him for our very life in God. With each step we realize we must learn to receive more of Him and lay down more of what we think we can accomplish by our own strength.
In our weakness, He is strong. The task before you and me is to come into complete unity with Him, receiving more and more of who He is and what He has done. One day we will all stand before our Father God for judgment.[5] By what measure will we be judged? Will it be how many souls saved, prayers raised, or worship attained? I don’t think so. I think the plum line of judgment will be stretched out to measure how much of Jesus we have received and expressed.[6] Imagine being judged on how well you entered His rest! We will stand beside the plumb line of union and receiving. That puts us all on the same level. In fact, if you think about it, that puts the lowest of us at an advantage because the lowly are the most desperate of all and, therefore, find it easier to receive. To understand this kind of judgment, we need to stand on our heads and look up!
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What about my limitations
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[1] Galatians 3:26-29
[2] Galatians 4:27
[3] II Corinthians 12:10
[4] Does God have limitations? I once asked Him the same question, and He told me two limitations that He places on Himself. He said He always keeps His word and He controls no man.
[5] I Corinthians 4:5
[6] Hebrews 3:4-11, 4:1, 4:10-11, 4:16