School Supplies (Friday Devotional)

“His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.”

- 2 Peter 1:3

·         4 boxes of Kleenex

·         2 packs of colored pencils (must be Crayola)

·         10 Elmer’s glue sticks

·         At least 5 mechanical pencils with .7mm lead

·         6 three-ring binders in different colors

Every year schoolchildren thrust lists like the one above into their parents’ hands and casually tell them, “My teacher says I need all this by tomorrow.” So the parents dutifully trudge to the local Wal-Mart or Office Depot, hoping that there are still a few packages of college-ruled notebook paper left. Some do so with the bigger picture in mind, knowing that without these purchases the teacher would probably spend hundreds of dollars out of her own pocket. Others have trouble seeing beyond the immediate inconvenience, grumbling their way from aisle to aisle and wondering why it’s so crucial that Bobby’s pencil bag be blue. But regardless of the attitude they take to the store, they go. The only alternative—unacceptable in their eyes—is for their child to not have what he or she needs.

It’s a common mistake to approach the life of discipleship with your own school supplies list, convinced that you can’t be a faithful Christian until you have everything you need: the perfect church, a mastery of Bible knowledge, an unfailingly consistent prayer life, etc. Certain that you cannot follow Jesus properly until you’ve checked every item off your list, you devote all your spiritual attention to those things in an effort to catch up to where you ‘should’ be.

Scripture makes clear that, in Christ, God has already given you everything you need to follow Him in obedience. God has given you a heart to open to His will in prayer, a mind with which to study His Word, hands and feet with which to serve your neighbor in love. Your lists of prerequisites for discipleship, however well-intentioned, tend to postpone your obedience to God more than propel it. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to have your spiritual life in order, but remember, it is God, not you, who will accomplish that. God has given you what you need to serve Him now—time to get to work!