I’ve known people who have tried some extreme things so that they could experience mind-blowing life. It’s only natural- I think everybody really wants a life greater than mediocrity. One that aims for the fullest.
One guy I knew did some wicked downhill mountain biking for the thrill. He told me he loved zipping in and out of the trees, over obstacles and creeks. The big problem for him was that he wasn’t all that good at going fast- and he ended up breaking most of his ribs.
Another guy tore apart his family so that he could pursue the thrill of climbing high mountain peaks. Other guys I’ve known have gone off on grand adventures to escape the humdrum of their daily lives- only to find the thrill short-lived and the yearning for more still gnawing at them. I’ve known others who have sucked themselves into the extreme grasp of drugs. Others try girls. Others try money. Others try lies. Others try power. Others try religion. Others try free range chickens and and lots of chocolate. Many eventually give up and accept a hollow existence.
Each of us has an emptiness in our soul that we desperately want filled. And not just filled so that we can be drained dry again. We long to be filled to overflowing, never running empty again. It’s the human quest… to discover life to the fullest.
One guy I know actually found it. And he shared it. Ephesians 3:14-21 is the revelation of one guy who discovered the fullest possible life. Once he found it, he spent his waking breath sharing that fullness so that others could receive it. The fullness did not come from within himself. It wasn’t a runner’s high, a mountain high or a drug high. The fullness came from rooting himself deeper and deeper into the love of Jesus.
In fact, so filling was Jesus’ love that it overwhelmed this guy, whose name was Paul. Paul said that all of his death-defying thrill seeking life was nothing compared to the heart-pounding experience of Jesus’ love. The fullness of Jesus’ love swept over Paul until he was swimming in it, immersed in it, drowning to new life within it. He says that the wisdom and scope of God’s plan made him fall to his knees. He prayed for others to be filled up through the unlimited resources of the Holy Spirit. He prayed for others to dig their roots deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. He prayed for others to know how wide/long/high/deep God’s love really is. He prayed that others would experience the love of Christ, though it is so great that no one could truly ever understand it. THEN, Paul said, YOU WILL BE FILLED WITH THE FULLNESS OF LIFE AND POWER THAT COMES FROM GOD.
Why keep looking everywhere else, when Jesus is our fullness? Dig deep into the soil of his wondrous love. Then, with that filling your heart, go jump out of an airplane or scream down the hill on a snowboard. That’s full.