We Lack Imagination

If you wonder whether you are able to think big, ask yourself a simple question: can you imagine someone offers you the biggest thing you ever wanted for free - and you can accept it without any hesitation?

You Cannot Perform Your Way into Salvation

Salvation comes before sanctification. It is impossible to do this the other way around. Sanctification, the process of becoming progressively more like Christ and to be set apart for God’s purpose is a life-long process and it starts with salvation. From Christ perspective, salvation means our recognition we are imperfect and we actually need saving. 
If we believe we need some form of sanctification first in order to receive salvation, we ignore that Christ is our salvation. It has been achieved through him already and is now available to us with no strings attached. Trying to earn this salvation somehow means we reduce sanctification to a program to better ourselves.
The result is we do not seek salvation because we either believe we require some form of improvement of ourselves first. Alternatively, we think we are “kind of OK”. I think both beliefs stem from a lack of imagination. If we think we are “good persons”, we haven’t put a lot of self-reflection into it, have the wrong kind of friends (or no friends and relationships at all) who would provide some honest feedback. In a worst case scenario, we are simply deluded. We cannot imagine there is anything wrong with us out of ignorance, arrogance or fear about what it would mean if we admitted we are fallen people.

We Have Too Little Imagination

When we believe we need to “perform” to get Christ’s attention, we also lack imagination. We think we are too “bad” to deserve anything. We also unquestioningly internalized what the world tells us. In order to get, you have to do. We have been made to believe we are not worth anything without performing. Regardless of where we stand, we are performance driven only separated by what we believe about our performance.
Christ challenges us to think bigger and to stretch our human imagination and go wild. He offers us salvation first without conditions. And then he offers sanctification which is not based on performance either. It is based on abiding in him. Can you imagine more for yourself?