A Talk With Meself about Myself

Do you ever have conversations with yourself like me?

First, I read verses from the Bible like this:

"that whoever believes in him may have eternal life." -John 3:15

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."-Matthew 11:28

And I examine myself and and I say,

"Griff, are you believing the gospel? Are you trusting that Christ died in your place to redeem you from all your sins? Have you come after Christ like he said? Are you trusting him alone?" and the answer is a resounding, "Yes!"

But then I'm perplexed and I say, "Why do I believe the gospel, yet people I love and care about who've heard the same good news..., reject it?" "Am I smarter than them?"

Nope!

"Am I just a tiny bit more righteous?"

Nope!

"Am I just a smidgen more holy?"

No way!

Then I run across verses like this:
"For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake,"-Philippians 1:29

"Okay, so that's a little clearer to me now... Faith is a gift from God. But are you sure?"

Yep, Griff, dontcha' remember Ephesians 2:8-9? "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And THIS IS NOT YOUR OWN DOING; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast."

"All right, I'm getting it now...If I am somehow smarter, humbler, holier than so and so, then I can boast about it, so God grants the ability to BELIEVE. But that would mean that it was TOTALLY out of my hands and I can't do anything to save myself...??

Yep.

"Oh no! That's scary!"

Yep.

"All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out." -John 6:37

"So, I'm a gift from the Father to the Son. But that's saying that my salvation is not so much about me, but about God and His glory. Wow! And I always thought the main reason for sharing the gospel was for getting people out of hell. But how does that give me any comfort? Why am I here? What is my chief end?"

Answer: Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.

No one CAN come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.- John 6:44