Fullness
When I think of the word "full" I think of meals at my in-law's house. My mother in law has the gift of hospitality. Her home is warm and welcoming, neat and cozy, and always overflowing with food when she's having a dinner party. She usually laughs when everyone has gone through the line, piling their plate high with meat, vegetables, and rolls--because after all have been filled it usually looks like no-one has gone through yet! There is still such an abundance left over that we can all take food home and feed our families for the next night too! Needless to say, we never refuse when invited to dinner at Mimi's!
In the book of Colossians 2:9 we are told that "the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ." And we have been given fullness in Christ. That fullness, that "super abundance" that dwells in Christ now dwells in us if we have placed our faith and trust in him. It's not something we have achieved, strived for, or perfected--it is simply a gift we are given.
When we desire to know God, we will never be left wanting.
One day I was driving down a beautiful scenic road near our house, on the way to soccer. It was barely drizzling, but the windshield was filling up enough that I felt I should use the windshield wipers. The problem is, when it's barely raining there isn't quite enough water for my wipers to wipe smoothly; they make this really annoying squeaking sound. So, in my annoyance I decided I would turn the wipers off and just peer through the small drops as I drove. A curious thing happened as I drove, though. My eyes kept shifting their focus from the road in front of me to the drops on the windshield. I tried to will myself to just look at the road, but as I relaxed my eyes would slowly drift back to the drops on the windshield. This was not beneficial to my driving and if I had continued this way I most certainly would have been in a ditch before too long.
This situation reminded me of my life as a Christian. I try to fix my eyes on Jesus, on the promises in the Bible, and the calling he has given us. But all too often, I am so distracted by daily annoyances, worries, and distractions that I become consumed with them. I can keep going like this for a while, but if we go too long, we will end up in a spiritual "ditch." We are told to "fix our eyes on Jesus" in Hebrews, and that is because it brings life to us. Real life, super abundant, full life only comes from the source of life: God. When the annoyances, worries, and distractions come, we can give them to God in prayer or fixate on them and try to control them and lose sight of the road in front of us. Lord, give us the grace to trust you with every little thing and live abundantly by fixing our eyes on you.
In the book of Colossians 2:9 we are told that "the entire fullness of God's nature dwells bodily in Christ." And we have been given fullness in Christ. That fullness, that "super abundance" that dwells in Christ now dwells in us if we have placed our faith and trust in him. It's not something we have achieved, strived for, or perfected--it is simply a gift we are given.
When we desire to know God, we will never be left wanting.
One day I was driving down a beautiful scenic road near our house, on the way to soccer. It was barely drizzling, but the windshield was filling up enough that I felt I should use the windshield wipers. The problem is, when it's barely raining there isn't quite enough water for my wipers to wipe smoothly; they make this really annoying squeaking sound. So, in my annoyance I decided I would turn the wipers off and just peer through the small drops as I drove. A curious thing happened as I drove, though. My eyes kept shifting their focus from the road in front of me to the drops on the windshield. I tried to will myself to just look at the road, but as I relaxed my eyes would slowly drift back to the drops on the windshield. This was not beneficial to my driving and if I had continued this way I most certainly would have been in a ditch before too long.
This situation reminded me of my life as a Christian. I try to fix my eyes on Jesus, on the promises in the Bible, and the calling he has given us. But all too often, I am so distracted by daily annoyances, worries, and distractions that I become consumed with them. I can keep going like this for a while, but if we go too long, we will end up in a spiritual "ditch." We are told to "fix our eyes on Jesus" in Hebrews, and that is because it brings life to us. Real life, super abundant, full life only comes from the source of life: God. When the annoyances, worries, and distractions come, we can give them to God in prayer or fixate on them and try to control them and lose sight of the road in front of us. Lord, give us the grace to trust you with every little thing and live abundantly by fixing our eyes on you.
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