Jn. 15:27
How full was your calendar this week? Mine was scribbled thick with arrows and asterisks and check marks and X's. Groceries to buy, people to care for, dinners to cook, chores to complete, events to attend. Next week's pages are nearly pure white, but in the next seven days they too will fill up with appointments and lists and plans and reminders. Then I'll turn the page to another blank set of boxes and start over again, filling up time.
This week was defined by fullness, and not just our schedule. The fridge is full (praise the Lord!), the laundry baskets are full of both clean and dirty clothes, our house was full of friends, and the dining room table is full of bits of autumn. It's easy for the heart to be full when so much blessing is obvious.
But my life should be characterized by fullness in another sense too. Am I full of grace? Full of forgiveness? Full of kindness? Generosity? Do I overflow because I'm filled up by an inexhaustible source? Too often, I don't. I'm frequently full of irritation. Worry. Restlessness. Or I'm not filled with anything at all. I'm empty: wearied, complacent.
There's no guarantee in the Bible that we will always feel full. But we are promised that we will always be full. "The Father will give you a Counselor to be with you forever," Jesus promised. "My peace I give you," He said. "Remain in me and I will remain in you," He said. Thankfully, the filling doesn't come from me.
Do you feel empty today? Or filled up with anxiety? There's an overflowing cup of joy available to fill you up. Be willing to come empty and prepare to leave full of all the fruits that come from life in the Holy Spirit.
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