You are complete.
Read time: 7 mins
“So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Colossians 2:10 NLT
I’m constantly on a journey of clarifying my “why” and many of you are like me. You want to identify your purpose. You want to find the thing that motivates you and drives you. And you want to find the fulfillment that will come with it. I have found mine and I believe I can help you too. I believe that God intentionally designed us to function in ways that would bring us fulfillment and a sense of purpose. And while I would love to go into unpacking your Ikigai and pointing out your unique discontent or helping you outline and dissect the common themes in your most impactful moments of life so that you can find your why, I want to keep it simple and go straight to the core issue. Are you ready? Here’s your purpose. Here is where you will find everything you’re looking for.
Your purpose is to be a hose. Yes, like a garden hose. You are designed to be a hose. God expertly crafted you to find the most fulfillment while walking in the purpose of what He designed you to be best at, and that purpose is to be a hose. What is a hose? A hose is something that’s intentionally created to find the most significance when it is connected to and receiving from a greater source. As the hose receives from a greater source, it can’t help but spread what it receives to dry places that need to be reached. A hose is just plastic if it’s not connected to the source. Your purpose is to be connected to God as you allow Him to shine through you in places He wants to show up in. You should get where I'm going with this. I want you to follow me here. This is where you will get the most fulfillment.
In Genesis 1:26 we see the creation of man. This is our design and should tell us about the conditions we are created to function best in. The trinity is a coeternal team of persons that are constantly loving each other and being loved by each other. God the father fully loved Jesus while Jesus fully loved God the father. We were made to be like this. We are made in this image. We function best when we are accepting love from our God. Our identity is wrapped in being loved. And living in this reality is where we find our fulfillment. Being loved by God is the reality we need to sit in. This is so close to me because one of my biggest pain points is seeing people walk around without peace, purpose or confidence. I truly believe there is so much that God has to offer us in this life and many of us are failing to realize it. This is all available if we just allow ourselves to be connected to the source.
My dad explained it to me like this. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy and peace among other things. Fruit means it's the side effects of having the Holy Spirit. It’s an add-on that comes with that connection. So we have love, joy and peace because of our connection. And if we are honest with ourselves, love, joy and peace is all you desire. You may say you want money but really you are searching for the peace and safety it may bring or the joy you feel like money can buy. Maybe you want money because you think it will bring you love and acceptance or a sense of belonging. God truly offers everything we desire. Living in the purpose we were created for brings fulfillment and our purpose is to be with Christ. That’s what we are designed for. We are complete in Christ Jesus.
“So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority.”
Colossians 2:10 NLT
Everything you desire is found in being intimate with Jesus and accepting His free gift of salvation but many of us aren’t experiencing the full abundance of life that Jesus wants for us because we are afraid to get close. Many of us don’t experience the full range of motion that God wants to offer because we are holding back from allowing God to truly be with us. This is really the devil’s biggest goal. From the garden, we see that the devil’s strategy is to get you to question God’s character and therefore question if He is safe to be with. If the devil can get you to be afraid to be intimate, vulnerable and connected with God, he can prevent you from experiencing the full abundance of life that he forfeited.
Many of us have an idea of God that is faulty. We think God isn't to be trusted or would never be on our side and that couldn’t be further from the truth. We struggle with accepting the idea that God really is who He says He is—a good and loving God who just desires to be with you. We struggle with the idea that we are all fully known yet fully loved. God saw how bad you had the potential to be, and still decided to accomplish salvation for you just in case you decided to accept it. Sometimes we put ourselves at the center of this equation and not God. God’s character causes change in your actions. Your actions don't change God’s character. No matter how much you mess up, God will always be good and we must come to believe that if we are going to fight the fear of being intimate with Him.
I want to remind you of the gospel. The gospel literally means “the good announcement.” So if what you believe to be the gospel isn't something good enough to shout about, it's not it. If something doesn’t sound good to you, I promise you that it's not the full picture. If the idea of God isn’t good to you, you either have a faulty idea of God or a faulty idea of good. Luke 2:10 is one of my favorite verses:
“But the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.”
Luke 2:10 NLT
I want you to think about this. When Jesus is announced, angels go to the outsiders and tell them not to be afraid. Then they tell them that they are bringing good news that will bring joy to all people. So if the Jesus you are referring to can't go to the outsiders, tell them not to be afraid, and say that His coming is good news that will bring joy to all people, it's not the right Jesus. If your Jesus is just for a special group with their lives together, it's not Jesus. If your Jesus doesn’t hang out with the people who society thinks are the least deserving, it's not Jesus. But let's go deeper.
If your Jesus is something to be afraid of you should ask Him to reveal His character because that’s not the Jesus that was introduced. God doesn’t change. God is love and perfect love casts out all fear. That’s what the Bible says. If your Jesus doesn’t bring good news to all people who hear of Him coming, it’s not Jesus.
The devil knows he’s already lost, so he’s trying to get you to forfeit your victory. He does this by trying to get us to question the character of Jesus. You have real peace, fulfillment, and joy when you’re connected. Don’t let the devil or church people trick you out of that connection. What you’re looking for is found in Jesus. In Jesus are you made complete. Jesus is who gives the fulfillment you’re searching for. I know people who spoke in the name of God hurt you by presenting something contrary to this, but they didn’t read their Bible. I want you to read it for yourself. Ask God to reveal Himself to you personally instead of just taking the word from others. Give Him a chance to argue for Himself. I don’t want you to be afraid to connect. Jesus is good news for all people. No matter your history, proclivities, sins, sexual orientations, mistakes or failures, He is good. He is so good, that the news of Him showing up is good for all people.
This means the idea of Him coming should bring excitement and joy instead of fear. If you’re afraid of Jesus coming, you may not know who He is and what He is really about. I’m not afraid of Jesus coming like one is afraid to go to class when they didn't do their work. I have joy because I get to be rescued from the hell that is on earth and brought closer to my loving father. I am acquitted from my sins and counted righteous because of my faith in Jesus, so God being the judge should bring a sense of peace and not fear. You are acquitted from your charges of sin. When God looks at you, He sees the righteousness of His Son. You are safe because you believe. You are safe when you accept the connection He is offering. Stop looking at God coming like you’re on the naughty list and expecting coal and condemnation. You should be excited because you know what list you’re on and what that means for you. Jesus wants to give you the gift of an abundant life and safety with Him.
Don’t be afraid to spend time with Him. Don’t be afraid to be honest and vulnerable with Him. He knit you together and decided to love you. There’s nothing in you that will scare Him off. Please give Him a chance to speak for Himself.
I’m done but here’s more I want to say. Jesus says that the entire Bible points to Him. He also says that He is the fulfillment of the law. That means that as you study, I want you to find Jesus. The Bible says the Spirit will lead you into all truth. It also says that the Spirit testifies of Jesus and Jesus is the truth. So the Holy Spirit is just going to keep showing you Jesus. As you study, the Spirit will show you a clearer picture of His character, even in the concepts you don't quite get yet. Just ask for the Spirit and He will guide you. Ask for wisdom and God will pour it out. If it doesn’t sound good yet, just keep asking God to reveal Himself and you’ll start to understand the Bible. That’s what happened for me. Fulfillment is found in Jesus. If that’s what you want, join me on the journey of getting to know him for ourselves.
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