In Pursuit of Fullness

Fullness: filled to capacity; synonyms are perfection, satisfaction, entirety; antonyms are need, want, lack, insufficiency

But I am not pursuing physical fullness, though I have my share of times I gorge myself on chocolate chip cookies for just that reason. I am talking spiritual fullness, the kind that is real and true and comes only through relationship with Christ. I have spent a lot of time the last couple of weeks in preparation for a study at church on Experiencing the Fullness of God (Eph 3:19). Over the next 10 weeks, a friend and I are preparing and leading this study, and I have to tell you it is going to be convicting for me personally.

We had our first meeting this morning and we discussed the various things that pull our focus away from Christ and entrap us into thinking we will find satisfaction or fullness in anything else. It is easy to think about other people's lives and identify for them the things that are distracting them away from Christ. It is somewhat painful to look in the mirror and see things in my own life, some not even necessarily bad things, that woo me away from the experiencing the fullness of God. Things like laziness and selfishness. Things like the busy appointment book sitting in my purse. All sorts and lists of things that "need" to be done. Things like the internet. (OUCH!)

Though it hurts to see those things in me, it is actually a relief to identify those distracting gnats and swat them away through the power of prayer and the desire to be obedient. I know that some of them will soon buzz back around me. But I am committing to the discipline of swatting! I know that experiencing the fullness of God is something God desires for me to enjoy and so I am continuing to pursue it!