And I don’t need to be.
I’m not saying I should not strive for excellence. I should certainly desire to glorify God in everything I do.
And certainly we should want to impact our community, and reach people with the Gospel.
But I’ve often thought that success meant being well known, or pastoring a growing church, or at least having some kind of thriving ministry.
But even if I fail at all of these things, I’m just as much accepted by God as I would be if I were to succeed at them all. God accepts me not on the basis of my works, but on the basis of Christ’s work.
This is great news, because no matter how great I try to be, I never seem to get it right. And I’ve noticed that when I think I do get it right, it’s usually because I’m grading according to the wrong scale.
In fact, I’m learning that it’s better not to grade myself or my ministry at all, but rather simply to rest in the grade that God has already given me through Christ. Though Jesus, I am 100% forgiven and accepted.
And when I do that, I begin to strive to glorify God not to earn anything, but simply rejoicing in the God who loves me, despite my lack of greatness.