I see it when I'm disappointed that I didn't get a run in. I see it when I fall short of someone's expectations. I see it when I don't get the attention I want. I see it when no one tells me how beautiful I am that day.
I am yearning for someone to say that I am sufficient - nay, more than sufficient. I am yearning for someone to declare that I am excellent in all of my attributes (saying it out loud is painful). And I bet you are as well.
Surely this yearning shows itself in different ways. Yet from my short human experience, and my interactions with others, I am convinced that we are all, some silently and some aloud, crying out for this.
This desire, of course, affects our relationships. I can't freely love you as I ought (to see what I mean by loving you as I ought - check out my post on His glory, the Cross, and My Affections). I can't love you simply because I am caught up in receiving from you what I need, that is, the affirmation that I am sufficient. I am too busy thinking of what I can say or do to please you. Or, if I know that I do not meet your standards, I am distracted by that reality, heading down the pathway to despair. I am not in a state of mind that desires your good.
So what does justification have to do with this? Justification is the forensic declaration by God the Father that I am righteous. This is not because I am actually righteous, but because he sees my sins as having been placed on Jesus on the cross, and Christ's righteousness on me (a beautiful doctrine called Double Imputation). The article of justification is paradigm shifting, and here is one of the ways: In the reality of justification, I realize first that I do not measure up to the standard that God the Father has set before me. I fail. I do not measure up, I cannot measure up. I am condemned. Take a moment to let that blow sink in. It's heavy, but it's true, and against the reality of our depravity the brightness of justification shines. The second thing I am shown is that Jesus measured up for me! Christ did two very important things: He died on the cross for our sins. In doing so, he took the sins of the elect upon himself, and he absorbed the whole wrath of God (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:25). This is referred to as the passive obedience of Jesus. He also lived a perfect life of obedience to the law in place of his elect (Matthew 5:17). This is known as the active obedience of Jesus. If we are in Christ, God the Father sees us as having perfectly fulfilled the law. His wrath is no longer upon us. God the Father, the only one who sees and knows reality, yea- the one who declares what reality is, has declared that in Christ we are seen as righteous in His sight - He declares that we have met his standard in Christ. There is no other standard to which we must rise.
Practically, this means that in interacting with a dear friend, or a stranger for that matter, I no longer have to try to impress them in order to try to achieve their favor. I already have the favor of God the Father upon me because he sees the righteousness of Christ upon me. I am free to seek your needs, and to love you as I ought. I am free to live for your good and no longer selfishly for my own.
How far I am from actually living in light of this truth. Praise God for his sanctifying work in his children. An excellent little book called The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness written by Timothy Keller has been the source of most of these thoughts. I highly recommend it.
Sources: The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness by Timothy Keller
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