Oh to be full….sometimes overstuffed being a better word. We eat everything on our plate because we don’t want good food to go to waste (no one ever eats the leftovers anyway) or, because when we were growing up our parents would tell us there were starving children in another country and they didn’t have enough to eat, or simply because it just tastes too good; let alone leaving room for dessert.
Thanksgiving is the perfect example; the biggest turkey we can find, three kinds of potatoes, two vegetables, three kinds of rolls, cranberries, salads, some kind of “fluff” whip cream and fruit, and endless sugary confections masquerading as desserts (made with love, of course). There are days of preparation of entirely too much food, hours of fellowship and football….and just minutes of a prayer of thanks to Him for providing.
We are full but not fulfilled.
How about this scenario: A typical day for a busy mom. Wake at 5:30a get breakfast, make lunches, get hubby and kids out the door, clean the house, grocery shop, maybe wash a couple loads of laundry, pick kids up from the bus stop, help with homework, make dinner, clean kitchen, bathe kids and put them to bed, and THEN sit down for a few minutes with her husband. He asks “How was your day?” Her reply “Oh…. It was a full day and now I am ready for bed.”…. just to do all over again.
Her day was productive. Her day was full. But not fulfilled.
See the difference for yourself.
Full:
–adjective
1. completely filled; containing all that can be held; filled to the utmost capacity
2. complete; entire; maximum
3. of the maximum size, amount, extent, volume, etc.
Fulfill:
–verb (used with object)
1. to carry out, or bring to realization, as a prophecy or promise.
2. to perform or do, as duty; obey or follow, as commands.
3. to satisfy (requirements, obligations, etc.)
4. to bring to an end; finish or complete, as a period of time.
I love the story of Mary and Martha…having been both of them at various points in my life (and forever will be). “As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42
Martha was full. Mary was fulfilled.
Can you even imagine being a tattle tale to Jesus? I know I’ve done it. “It’s not fair. Why can she eat whatever she wants and I gain weight just by looking at the cheesecake?”
Jesus wants our hearts to be full more than our stomachs; food was meant to be sustenance not a substitute for so many other things. In Matthew 12:34-35 Jesus says “You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored in him.”
Jesus reminds us that what we say reveals what is in our hearts. You must allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with new attitudes and motives; then your speech will be cleansed at its source. (New Life Application Bible)
I believe that if my heart is full of good and overflows; I can then fulfill what Jesus wants from me. To quote dictionary.com ….. to carry out His promise; to be more like him to others, to obey his commands and live by example as he would have done.
“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filed to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Ephesians 3:17-19
We have all the fullness of God available to us but we have to get that fullness through faith and through prayer as we live for him, daily. We can ask the Holy Spirit to fill every aspect of our life to the fullest.
If we are filled in every aspect of our life….to the fullest, why would you ever want to be just “full”?
I want to be overflowing with love and faith in him….not overstuffed and ready for a nap.
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