Live Each Day to the Fullest
As I was leaving the neurosurgeon’s office for the last time, I asked, “Do you have any advice for me? Is there anything I’m supposed to do?” Terrified and filled with fear and uncertainty after a car accident, head surgery, and extensive recovery time, I could not voice the real questions … What if an errant hockey puck hit my head? What if a child throwing balls hit my skull’s fractured indention, a permanent memento from my surgery. What if I developed another brain bleed?
The doctor stopped, and for a moment, his clear blue eyes gazed intently into mine.
“Go out and live each day to the fullest.”
After life-altering health events, many people begin an exercise program, attend church, or eat more fruits and vegetables. Others travel, volunteer, or pursue hobbies. In the workforce, fullest might translate into promotions or assuming project leadership.
What if living life to the fullest began with the life-altering event of being filled with the fullness of God? The moment we committed to developing a deeper relationship with Him and seeking His will.
Paul prayed for the church in Ephesus “to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:19 ESV).
Is it possible we must succeed in love before we can be filled with God? Or is love measured in the beginnings? Does knowing the love of Christ mean taking time for a call with a friend, even when we’re busy? Preparing a meal for the neighbors who grieve a family loss? Does the fullness of God translate conversations, so we become a little less judgmental and more objective, less critical and more reasonable?
Being filled with love creates pathways for His love to imprint on the lives of others. Who doesn’t want to be on the receiving end of a smile, hug, or fresh-baked pie.
What if instead of measuring a full life through accomplishments, checking accounts, or things which consume the passage of time, we redefine living life to the fullest as allowing others to see the God who consumed us?
What if we started measuring life’s purpose, not in accomplishing lists, but in sharing love?
After all, God is love. Fill me with His fullness so I can share.
If you need to experience more fullness of God, just ask Him. He’s ready to provide.
