As a work-from-home mother and wife, my life has become a balancing act. The question “Is it enough?” is a constant in my mind. Do we have enough money to pay all the bills? Will there be enough milk for cereal and that casserole? Do I have enough time to finish that project before the baby wakes up? The list is endless.

Unfortunately, this line of thinking has made its way into my spiritual walk as well. Have I volunteered to teach enough Bible classes? Do I spend enough time in prayer? Am I in God’s word enough? Sisters, I know I am not alone in thinking this way. I also know that it is wrong in every possible way.

To begin with, the simple answer to my question is no. Even if I spent every second of every day in devoted service and prayer, it could never be enough to repay the debt that I owe. Now, if I stopped there, imagine how depressing this article would be! But instead, it is an incredibly uplifting beginning. My Lord saved me because he loves me; no “repayment” required.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8 ESV).

I am thankful every day for the gift of my salvation. And not only for that, but for my wonderful husband, healthy child, and a thousand other things God has given to me. Praise the Lord that I don’t have to earn those blessings! It would be beyond impossible.

The whole idea of enough assumes that the subject can be measured. For a cup of milk, or a balanced checkbook, that is fine. But nowhere in the scriptures is there a measure of what enough looks like in someone’s spiritual walk.

Does this “get me off the hook?” Absolutely not.

So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works and I will show you my faith by my works (James 2:17-18).

These verses, along with the one I quoted earlier, make it perfectly clear that my salvation hinges on my faith. And the only way to show that faith is through good works. I should continually be looking for ways to better myself, and to reach out to others. The real difference is my attitude. I shouldn’t do good works because I haven’t done enough yet. Instead, every aspect of my life, whether reading my Bible or folding the laundry, should be done because I am eternally grateful for the incredible gift I’ve already been given.

Accepting God’s grace for the gift it is lifts a huge burden from my shoulders. He still knows exactly what abilities and opportunities I have, and He expects me to use them. As I grow and change, God expects that my good works will grow and change with me. But He also knows my struggles, understands that I will fall down, and He’ll be right there to help me back up again. I do not work for God so that He will save me. I live a life of praise and thanksgiving to my Lord because He already did!

Originally posted on December 17, 2012

By Keisha Swaim
Along with her husband, Keshia works with the Church of Christ in Blanchard, OK, where she has spent most of her life. Keshia is currently a stay-at-home mother, and when she isn’t chasing her young son, her passion is writing. She is an aspiring Young Adult Fantasy author, and hopes that her work will one day give teens more wholesome choices in literature.