Sometimes we can think that we have to earn our salvation and be good enough to be called ‘righteous’. We can burn ourselves out trying to do everything, and be everything. But the truth is, no matter how hard we try, we’re always going to mess up at some point. That’s because we’re human. The Bible says: ‘For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard’ (Romans 3:23 NLT). And God knows that we could never be perfect. That’s why He sent His Son to die for us, to save us from our sins and make us righteous in His eyes. This was His gift to us, because of how much He loves us (take a look at Ephesians 2:8-9). When we believe in Jesus, we’re made righteous because God sees us through Jesus. The Bible tells us that, ‘Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’ We are now at peace with God, so we don’t need to worry that we’re not good enough for Him or that we need to do certain things to make Him love us. He loves and accepts us just as we are. But this doesn’t mean we can just do whatever we want, and think that we can put in minimal effort into our relationship with God until the day we die. God has a purpose for us and wants to work through us to build His kingdom and reach people who don’t yet know Him. He wants us to draw closer to Him and become more like Him. And when we truly love God, we will want to do these things. When we do God’s work from a place of love, rather than a place of striving, we won’t end up burned out and disillusioned. Instead, we can rest in Him, and the knowledge that we’re righteous and saved. 

What Now?

Spend some time thanking God for loving you so much that He saved you and sees you as righteous. Then ask Him what you can do for His kingdom today.