Audience of ONE

     My entire life I have struggled with wanting everyone to be happy with me. I'm sure that is common with many people. However, in my journey with Christ within this last year, I believe I am being taught that Christ is truly the only audience I need to impress.
     Not impress as in doing enough to gain His approval, that is NOT the gospel of grace that Jesus brings. Maybe a better way of saying it would be that Christ is the only one whom I need to lock my focus on; derive my meaning from; drown my worth in. And in growing daily in the knowledge of His love for me, I am freed from seeking people approval and released to give that love back to others.
     The problem with depending on humans for worth is that every single one of us struggles. We all have our junk. I'll never forget a Good Friday service years ago where people who were in need of any kind of healing from Jesus were asked to come to the front for prayer. The people just kept coming. Some with obvious needs, some with hidden. But what struck me was that everyone had a need only Jesus could fix.
     My devotional the other day (IF:Equip - Acts 17:16-34) covered how anything in our lives that takes the place of God is an idol and how Paul gives a remedy for that: "but now he commands all people everywhere to repent because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."
     Then take 1 John 1:9 "If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins AND to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Do you see that? JESUS is enough! We repent; we turn away from our sin and hand it over to Jesus and Jesus does the rest! He makes us clean! He fixes the junk! I don't have to figure out a 3-step plan for not caring about others opinions over God's. I need to repent and turn to Jesus for help, and His Spirit does the rest!
     Nobody that calls themselves a Christian has any time to be trying to live their life without the Holy Spirit! John 15:5 Jesus says "apart from me you can do nothing".
     Audience of ONE. Only one can make us whole.