COMPLETE IN JESUS

"But the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day"  (Proverbs 4:18).

As I woke up this Sunday morning, I looked across a farmer's field to an awakening horizon. Peeking out from a bank of trees was the rising sun. The color was the deepest pink, almost the color of a fuschia flower. It's hard to imagine that the sun could become more vivid as the day goes by. But it will only shine "brighter and brighter until full day" when it reaches its zenith directly over my head.

It's amazing that God would use this analogy to describe our journey with Jesus. The path that we walk with Christ  is just like the path of the sun. It starts out with brilliant light as Jesus enters our hearts. Its door is wide open and Jesus steps in with all His love. We begin to absorb that love and everyone around us can see we're a new creation. We've been born again. Even our faces glow with the peace we've found in Jesus. But the light is only the beginning.

The Bible says, "You are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power" (Colossians 2:10). Now Paul wrote these words to the believers at Laodicea but he also wrote them for you and me--"for as many as  have not seen [Paul's] face in the flesh" (vs. 1). He wrote these words to encourage us and so our hearts would be "knit together in love." And what's more--we'd grab hold of the full assurance in knowing Jesus as our Savior and Lord. What greater assurance could there be than to hear, "you are complete in Him"?

When I think of the word complete, I think something is done. Nothing is missing. Every part is in place, just as it's designed to be. When my garden is complete, all my plants will be growing, bursting with life and luscious fruit. My work will be done in the garden. I can sit back and enjoy the fruit of my harvest. But the words of Paul aren't pointing to a time of rest as if there's nothing more to be done in our hearts or our character.

The word we translate as complete in Colossians 2:10 comes from the Greek pleroma which literally means  "fullness." The American Standard Version sticks close to the original language by saying, "In Him ye are made full." Then there's  the Revised Standard which says, "You have come to fullness of life in Him." To be complete in Jesus is to be totally filled with the presence of God and all His power and righteousness. It's a saturated filling that's absorbed into every inch of our life. Jesus is in our thoughts. Jesus is in our words. He's the center of all we do from the time we wake up in the morning til we fall asleep at night. His love overflows and spills out with all God's fullness!

What exactly is that fullness? In Colossians 1:19, the Bible says "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell." And in chapter 2, verse 9, we're told that in Jesus "dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily." Did you catch that? Don't move too quickly over those verses. Put them together and you'll see Jesus. Jesus is the perfect picture of who God is in every dimension of  life. When you think of the love of Jesus, forgiving His enemies as they drove nails into His hands, that's the fullness of God. When you see Jesus touching the lepers, eating with tax collectors, giving Himself in selfless service to all who need salvation, that's the fullness of God. When you look into His sinless life, resisting every trap of the devil, maintaining a living connection with His heavenly Father, that's the fullness of God.

And it's the same fullness that we may have with the Father. How incredible is that? I can't imagine anything greater than to be like Jesus, can you? What greater assurance could God give us than to say, "You are filled to the brim with My presence and My character"?  That's the gift He wants to give us if we'll open our heart to take it all in.

How can we receive that fullness? "In the same way as you received Him at first. "As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him (Colossians 2:6)...By faith you became Christ's and by faith you are to grow up in Him--by giving and taking. You are to give all--your heart, your will, your service--give yourself to Him to obey all His requirements; and you must take all--Christ, the fullness of all blessing, to abide in your heart, to be your strength, your righteousness, your everlasting helper--to give you power to obey" (Steps to Christ, pp. 69,70).

We often hear about giving our all to Jesus. That's the very first step. Christ can't enter our heart without a wide open door to walk through. He won't enter in unless we open that door completely. But once Jesus is sitting on our heart's throne--once He has access to our minds and hearts--we must reach out for more. We must take everything that Jesus wants to give us. And He wants to give us more than forgiveness. He wants to give us more than victory over self and sin. He wants to give us Himself so completely that "when obeying Him we shall be but carrying out our own impulses" (Desire of Ages, pg. 668). And "if we consent, He will so identify Himself with our thoughts and aims, so blend our mind and hearts in conformity to His will" that His impulses will be our impulses. His mind will be our mind. Christ will be in us and through us in all His fullness, in all His wonderful love and power.

That is the fullness of the gospel--that Christ will be formed within, the hope of glory (Colossians 1:27)! Oh, how I wish I had the words of an angel to share this fabulous experience with you! My words just aren't good enough. But I'm telling you the truth--this experience is for real! You and I can reach this zenith in our journey with God as we open our hearts to take in ALL the presence of Christ through His indwelling Spirit! You may have already experienced some of God's Spirit. But He has more--so much more to give you! 

OUR PRAYER
Every day, we need to pray for a greater baptism of God's Spirit, saying "Mold me, fashion me, raise me into a pure and holy atmosphere where the rich current of Thy love can flow through my soul" (Christ's Object Lessons, pg. 159). Deepen my repentance so I may hate sin as You do and turn from it 100%. Come in Lord Jesus, and abide in me today that I may grow in Your fullness through Your life-giving Spirit. In Jesus' name I pray and praise You forever more! Amen!