As a teacher, I find the Middle Ages to be both fascinating and disconcerting. A fixed pillar of the literary canon, Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales vividly shows the reliance of humanity on the outward practices at the expense of the inward heart.

In my 21st-century, biblically literate mind, I wonder how people could become so dependent on having relics for their well-being. I gasp at the thought of praying for pardon for sins already paid for with Jesus’ blood. But then I reflect on my own humanity, my own fixed objects and practices of assurance.

Steadfast in the work that Christ completed, Paul admonishes us to become intimate with the same valiant power of Christ that triumphed over the powers of darkness (Colossians 2:12-15) and to become sure, not in our own efforts but in His transformational work (Colossians 2:9-10). If salvation doesn’t happen through human ability (Colossians 2:11), then it follows that our sanctification doesn’t come by our own efforts. We are changed through God working in us (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24). Our works of faith reveal the condition of our heart and position us for further spiritual growth, but they can’t make a filthy heart clean (Ephesians 2:8; James 2:17-26).

In a world so dependent on the visible, we need to take inventory of our own motivations. Spiritual disciplines, ministry involvement, and financial giving are all vital parts of a healthy spiritual walk. But at the point at which we believe that any of these things grant us security, we’ve missed the mark. Jesus called us to grow “with a growth which is from God” (Colossians 2:19 NASB). He doesn’t call us to spiritual busyness.

The difference between the two is the difference between intimacy with Jesus and a “defrauding,” “self-made religion” (Colossians 2:18,23 NASB).

NLT 365-day reading plan passage for today: Luke 17:1-19