Completeness
Sarah Worth writes...
When you hear the word “complete” what do you think of? I asked some friends and here are their responses:
Totally accepted in Christ -- no more striving!
Lacking nothing - we have all that we really need, in Christ, to live for God now and forever
Wholeness
Being married to my husband
The wee verse Ye are complete in Him! Makes me think how blessed I am in God!!
Sufficient
Finished like it was intended to be in the first place
Perfect Fusion
I wonder if you would have a similar response to the ones listed? The majority of the friends who replied to my question were Christians, but I am sure a lot of us have thought ‘if I could just earn more money, change job, do my dream job, be fitter, be thinner, be healthier, move to another country, get married, have a baby, retire early, have grandchildren, and so on I would be happy, I would be complete.’ These desires are not wrong as long as we realise that our true worth and stability comes from Christ. Life will not always be stable. All of us face trials and differences and we may not get those things we desire or think we need, but does that mean we are any less complete than someone who does get those things?
Are there times you feel you are incomplete? We think that because I am not or do not have a, b and c I am incomplete? Maybe someone makes a comment implying that they think you’re missing something? They may not come right out and say it, but they say something like ‘I could not do what you do if I did not have…’. Over recent years I have had some very dear Christian friends say some of the following comments to me:
“You really need to have children to fully understand”
“I could not do what you do if I did not have my fiancé”
“How is a beautiful woman like you not married?”
What is it we think will fulfil, satisfy and complete us?
I have struggled and do still struggle with loneliness and sometimes feeling incomplete as a single woman, but God graciously and gradually over time has been moulding and continually shaping my view of what it means to be complete; to see my value and worth coming through the Lord – who I am in HIM – who HE has made me to be and not in what I do, what I have or what I do not have. This is a daily journey!
Scripture tells us that as believers in Christ Jesus we are:
saved
forgiven
accepted
beloved of God
daughters of God
servants
chosen in HIM before the foundation of the world
new creatures
I am known – truly known by God – all of me, not just the parts I let people see and know.
I am called a child of God – HE has given me HIS name.
adopted into HIS family
kept by God
secure
Colossians 2:9 shows us that Christ encompasses everything we will ever need for our spiritual life, enjoyment and satisfaction. In Christ we lack nothing! We are full, whole and entire! God is working in us through troubles and all of life to make us more like Himself. (James 1:2-4) God finishes HIS work in us completely! HE will bring to conclusion the work of salvation in our lives that HE has started. HE does not leave things half-finished. (Philippians 1:6) We can have complete confidence in our Saviour. In Psalm 119, David talks about God ordering and arranging the details/conditions of our existence. God is faithful. God is constant.
A friend recently asked me something she had also been challenged by - Do I trust God for my Eternity? If I do, how much more can I trust Him for the here and now?! HE is the accomplished and skilled God of all! Who better to have confidence in than the very one who created me and molded me in my Mother’s womb. (Psalm 139) “Your hands made me and fashioned me. I am Yours.” “You established the earth and it stands.” (Psalm 119)
Genuine faith sees the world through the lens of hope and trust in the Lord, and knows that comfort is not willed up or made up, but that the comfort is given from a loving Saviour who has walked the same paths as we have. One who took my place and took all my sin on HIMSELF, that I might be free!
I love this quote from Tim Keller's little book 'The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness',
"He took the condemnation we deserve; He faced the trial that should be ours so that we do not have to face any more trials. So I simply need to ask God to accept me because of what the Lord Jesus has done. Then, the only person whose opinon counts looks at me and He finds me more valuable than all the jewels in the earth...true Christian identity operates totally different from any other kind of identity. Self-forgetfulness takes you out of the courtroom. The trial is over. The verdict is in...Like Paul, we can say, 'I don't care what you think. I don't even care what I think. I only care about what the Lord thinks! And He has said, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus", and "You are my beloved child in whom I am well pleased." Live out of that."
Have I ever just dwelt on the fact that as a child of God, “My Father is God”? HE knows us intimately and wants us to see how complete we are in HIM. We lack no good thing if only we will come to HIM and rest in HIM. HE knows our sorrows and heavy hearts and meets us in our need. HE does not leave us to sorrow and HE takes our worries on HIMSELF. May we remember this simple, yet very full sentence and remind ourselves often that in Christ we are complete and whole! Praise HIM!
