Am I satisfied?
Satisfaction usually comes with conclusions – at the end of projects, at the end of meals, when we can say “job well done,” or, “I’ve had enough.” Describing myself as satisfied seems to miss the point, though. I am committed to living with God at the center of my life, and with that certainty comes a necessary lack of conclusions: the work that God calls us to do is never done.
And yet I am still fulfilled. There is an important distinction between satisfaction and fulfillment.
In The Secret Message of Jesus, author Brian McLaren offers a helpful notion of fulfillment as it relates to the kingdom of heaven. He suggests that what is translated as Kingdom of God in John’s Gospel might better be understood as “life to the full.” We might aspire to reach the fullness of life, a life with God at the center. We might coax a desire to find this sense of fulfillment in others. We might work toward building a society, or reign of God, that truly supports every person in his or her pursuit of the fullness of life.
A fulfilled life bears God’s love. A fulfilled life is one of big ideas and simple pleasures. A life of love in which we listen for God’s continuous call.
In the end, that is probably too many words. Fulfillment is perhaps best put by Raymond Carver in his poem “Late Fragment”:
And did you get what
you wanted from this life, even so?
I did.
And what did you want?
To call myself beloved, to feel myself
beloved on the earth.
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