For full audio you can listen here: Lives Hidden With Christ - Fullness
I have a simple, yet profound, question for you to consider: What truly fills you up?
What is that activity, experience, or acquisition that leaves you with a deep, satisfying sense of “I am whole, and I am full?”
For many of us, the chase for this sense of satisfaction comes to dominate our lives. We are constantly seeking to fill an inner void—a feeling of emptiness that is, perhaps, innately human.
The Endless Pursuit of “Just One More”
We try to fill this space in all kinds of ways, often chasing after things that offer only a temporary fix:
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Family & Relationships: Spending time with loved ones can be deeply fulfilling, but if we rely on it to define our sense of self, the chase can become overwhelming.
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Sports Triumphs: The momentary high of your favorite team winning (or your rival losing!) provides a fleeting sense of joy. We watch every minute, hoping for that next rush of fullness.
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Escapism: When life feels overwhelming, we might turn to a favorite drink or other escape to temporarily melt away problems and find a sense of contentment.
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Materialism & Consumerism: This is the most prevalent “ism” of our age. We are constantly seduced by the idea that if we just get the next thing—a new TV, a better car, a different shirt—we will finally be “good.” It’s the constant siren song of “Just one more."
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Political Victories: We invest our hope in a candidate or a party, believing that their win will set the world right and bring us satisfaction.
The 17th-century mathematician Blaise Pascal called this internal emptiness a “God-shaped hole”—a vacuum in us that we seek to fill with everything other than God.
The Radical Claim of Fullness in Christ
In his letter to the Colossians, the Apostle Paul drops a bombshell that directly confronts this constant chasing. He writes:
“For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.” (Colossians 2:9-10)
This is a remarkable statement. We can somewhat grasp the idea of Jesus having the fullness of God—after all, he walked on water, fed thousands, and rose from the dead. But Paul has the audacity to say that through Christ, you have been brought to fullness.
If this is true, why do we still feel that internal emptiness? Why are we still chasing?
1. Christ Has the Authority
Paul first establishes Christ’s authority to make this claim: “He is the head over every power and authority.”
Every power we chase—be it consumerism, political victory, or personal success—is ultimately beneath his authority. This means we can yield those compulsions to him. When that “I want, I want, I need, I need” feeling starts to take over, we can turn it over to Christ, the one who is in charge of it all. We can trust him to handle it.
2. The Old Self Has Been Removed
Paul uses a strange, powerful metaphor to drive the point home:
“In him you are also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands; your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him…” (Colossians 2:11-12)
The “flesh” here (the Greek word sarks) isn’t just skin and bones; it refers to our natural, sinful, and broken self—the part of us marred by sin. Paul says this old, broken self has been removed. It’s been cut away. You have been transformed in the very core of your being and raised to new life!
Get Busy Living
This truth presents a core choice, which I often see illustrated in the film The Shawshank Redemption.
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Brooks: A man institutionalized by decades in prison. When he is finally released, he cannot accept the reality of his freedom. He cannot embrace his new life. Unable to escape the mindset of his “old self,” he tragically takes his own life. He chose death over the pain of living a new life.
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Red: A fellow inmate who also gets released. He struggles deeply with his new identity as a free man, feeling the pull of the old self. But then, he remembers the phrase: “Get busy living, or get busy dying." Red chooses to live. He accepts and receives the reality that his old self is gone and that he has been given a new life. He steps into it.
This is your story, too.
The question you must wrestle with is this: Do you believe that the old, empty, chasing self has been stripped away? Do you believe you have a new identity in Christ, one where you no longer have to chase to fill a hole because in Christ, you have fullness?
Or will you keep chasing after the empty mists that ultimately fail us?
A Question for the Week
Take a good, honest look in the mirror this week and ask yourself:
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What am I chasing?
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Am I trusting that Christ has filled this hole, or am I still running myself ragged trying to fill it myself?
Like me, you will find this is an ongoing process. We are easily sucked back into the “I want, I want” culture. We must be reminded, over and over: No. That has been taken from me. Christ has given me fullness. I can rest in him and live in a sense of contentment.
If you, like me, find some areas to grow in, confess it to Christ. Find a trusted friend to hold you accountable. Choose to live like Red, not Brooks. Choose to live free, knowing your old self is gone and you have been raised with Christ to a new life of fullness.