Filled with God’s Fullness

On a Sunday morning drive to church my kids started asking me about…wait for it…plastic surgery.

Not the type of topic you would expect on Sunday morning. In addition to explaining how this type of surgery is life-changing for individuals who have various medical needs, I also explained (in an age-appropriate way) that some people elect for surgeries that change the way they look simply because they don’t like how they look.

During this conversation, I realized I’ve lived my whole life with cultural messaging that seeks to foster discontentment. It's a message that says “You are not enough, and here’s a solution.” There are lies that feed discontentment concerning our appearance— not pretty enough, not small enough, not curvy enough. And lies that have us questioning our resources, abilities, relationships, and identity— not smart enough, not rich enough, not worthy enough. Of course, the world offers endless solutions that claim will help us become enough.

I wonder how I’m ever going to be able to stand up to the worldly giants of “not-enoughness” that will target my daughters. How will I help them become disillusioned with the empty solutions the world seeks to offer?

I take hope in Paul’s words to the Colossians 1:19-20 (CSB)

"For God was pleased to have
all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile
everything to himself,
whether things on earth or things in heaven,
by making peace
through his blood, shed on the cross."

The Greek word for peace carries with it a strong connotation of wholeness. Paul writes, “...the entire fullness of God’s nature dwells bodily in Christ, and you have been filled by him”(Col. 2:9-10, CSB).

As believers, we have received the fullness of Christ, who has reconciled all things to Himself through His blood. When we take hold of this truth, we find contentment in who we are because Christ offers peace that satisfies our longings. In Him, we find wholeness that makes the empty solutions of the world lose their appeal.

We don’t have to try and convince our kids the world’s solutions are empty— we get to lead them to the One in whom wholeness is found. Let’s lead them well.

Meet the Author
Mary Kate Brown

Mary Kate and her husband Brian are high-school sweethearts who left their lifelong home in the Chicago suburbs to build their homestead in rural Western Michigan. She's a homeschooling mama of four daughters and a homebody who enjoys making hot breakfasts, working in her garden, and frequenting the local farmers market. After overcoming health challenges due to autoimmunity, her passion is pursuing wholeness beyond her diagnosis. She encourages other mamas to do the same to shape the wellness of their families.