Fullness part 1
I have no lack because my God has no lack. We used to say that just about every Sunday at my old church as part of our statement of faith. And it really stuck with me. Because, while I believe that is absolutely true, we sure do stumble around acting like we have a lot of lack. Chasing the carrot but only getting the stick. Missing out on what's available to us because we don't know and believe that we already have it. And that's a tragedy. Because Jesus did it all so we could get it all. He did all the heavy lifting. He finished the work. Look at Colossians 2:9-10, "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power." Another way to say this is, "As He is, so are we in this world." Jesus is our true identity. We are complete in Him because He is complete in us. He is God in the flesh. Love in a body. God in OUR flesh. Love in OUR body. He is light, and there is no darkness in Him at all. Which means WE are light, and there is no darkness in US at all. Let me say that one more time for the cheap seats: We are light, and there is no darkness in us at all. Making a mistake doesn't make you less than. It doesn't disqualify you. It doesn't change your identity. You are the righteousness of God in Christ. Nothing can change that. But its like its easier for us to believe that we are low down dirty sinners than it is for us to believe that we are saints. Kings and priests. Which, of course, is why I'm writing this Rant series. Because I believe if I keep shouting the truth from the mountaintops, someone somewhere will hear it and believe it. Faith comes from hearing, and hearing from the Word of God. Which is Jesus. Which is love. God is love and He loves you. That's what it means for all the fulness of the Godhead to dwell in a body; it means love lives in Jesus. And we are complete in Him. Because He lives in us. LOVE lives in us. Look at this passage of Scripture in the Message Bible: "Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don't need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him. When you come to him, that fullness comes together for you, too. His power extends over everything." The power of love. Extending over every aspect of our lives. The fullness of Christ. The fullness of love. And the emptiness without it (HIM). Love is the difference between life and death. We kind of looked at that a little bit in the previous Rant series. But let me say it like this: No love, no life. Know love, know life. That's about as simple as I can make it. And, again, that's what we have. Because that's who He is. That's who WE are. He is the fulness of God in a body. God in the flesh. Love in a body. And I know there are some people out there that think I'm full of it in a negative way, but I'm here to tell you that we are ALL full of it. Full of Him. Full of love. Filled to overflowing so that we don't have to do anything except believe in order for what's inside to come flowing out. We don't have to do anything, earn anything, or get anything. We are who we need to be and we have what we need to have. We're full of it. All we need to do is fill ourselves with the fullness. Let God love us, and love others with that same love!