Satisfied or Fulfilled?
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.
By
Jim Cooper
|
May 21, 2007; 7:12 AM ET
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It's a great achievement for Islamic leaders and scholars as well as Newsweek and the Washington post to present this imperative opportunity for inter cultural and global philosophical dialogue. What's important is that by exchanging our ideas and comments regarding inter religious relations and world events that affect our views of each other as fellow human beings. Since the advent of humanity, We strove to make sense of the world we live in and the lives we've experienced. Worldwide curiosities to learn the true nature of life and our universe is an exceptionally rare virtue upon life on Earth. In other words, we're the only known species on the planet who've pursued to unravel these great mysteries and developed written philosophies based upon our understanding of the world around us.
One such philosophy that lasted throughout the ages of humanity is commonly known as religion and spirituality. Ever since our early belief in the Sky God and the God Mother from ancient Pagan times, we vigorously pursued to unravel the truth about our most profound questions. As any educated person would know that religion and their core beliefs or faith have evolved over time. Paganism, Monotheism and Polytheism have been influenced by humanity as these great philosophies have influenced our perceptions and decisions in life over the ages. Over time humanity has embraced diverse religious faiths and spiritual convictions that continue to influence our behavior in our times and most likely beyond.
What's vital for humanity's progress and even survival is to know the true nature of faith itself. To understand the true origins of faith. But most of all, is to accept the truth for whatever it may be. Each one of us will learn the absolute truth once we die. But until that time comes for anyone of us to depart this world, we really don't know the answer to God's existence nor do we have the absolute truth in regards to the true nature of God. Besides if we did possess the truth, there would've been only one religion on Earth with no diversification of any way, shape of form. There would only be one holy scripture written throughout human history.
Considering one's religious faith to be absolute, while considering others to be false would be ethnocentric at best. While collectively searching to unravel the mysteries on nature, life and the universe through sincere reasoning and serious research would be enlightening at its worst. Most importantly, we must accept the fact is that none of us have conclusive evidence to confirm our core beliefs and there's always an immanent change that our most cherished beliefs could be wrong. Our greatest challenge would be to tolerate the truth no matter what it may ultimately be. With such an open mind, we would be able to overcome any future discovery that would contradict our faith regarding the true nature of life, spirituality and divinity.
Humanity does have the ability to achieve such a social achievement. However, it's solely up to humanity and not any other entity or groups of entities to decide our destinies. Each one of us has a choice to make; either hopelessly engaging into meaningless inter cultural conflicts or combine our scientific and cultural gifts to thrive into an enlightened global civilization that could ultimately expand beyond our solar system. The choice is yours, and the time to make it is now!
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Posted by: Nareurona | July 31, 2007 7:53 PM
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"Might be translated?" What kind of creative exegesis is at work here? Maybe it means that I am to work on my old Volvo, or trim the neighbor's hedges?
"That you may have life, and life to the fullest" is one of the most misused verses in the Bible, and it looks like it is finding its way into this very strange collection of ideas. Endless ink has been spilled (and ,now, endless bytes?) over what the Kingdom of Heaven means, and it certainly means lots of different things, but I don't get this one. Anonymous is at least partially right, but if anyone really wants to get a sense of what on earth (and heaven) Jesus was saying, just get out the primary (primary ENOUGH, anyway) sources and read what it says. Such a minor investigation will yield much more fruit than this!
Posted by: MORRA | May 22, 2007 7:33 AM
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Good question. What is the kingdom of heaven? Is it live life to its fullest? When I own three houses and a car collection? Is the kingdom when we have success and are beloved?
Mathew 13:47-51 "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net which was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind; when it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into vessels but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous, and throw them into the furnace of fire; there men will weep and gnash their teeth. "Have you understood all this?" They said to him, "Yes."
I guess Brian McLaren overlooked this passage!
Posted by: Anonymous | May 21, 2007 6:53 PM
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Worth's sentiment and Candide's response (and to a degree, Ashley's) tell the whole story...whether you believe in a creator God or not...of atheists and Christians -- most notably, in their respective outlooks.
Would an atheist who was stuck on Mt Everest in dire need of help ever have faith that someone, anyone, would be coming along to rescue them? Chances are they would not know who that would be, let alone know what that person looks like. No believer knows what God or Jesus Christ looks like. The images of the long haired hippie from mideaval paintings is not realistic. So, the true believer has and uses faith...because Christians, overall, see that mankind is a magnificently created being...much akin to the wonderful things that our human minds can plan and create, of course on a smaller scale...like how the cogs on gear wheels are planned and crafted to work just right. Sadly, atheists either cannot see this, or perhaps feel threatened by such a thought. We have regretfully seen what happens when mankind sets himself up as the center of the universe.....
Posted by: TDAY | May 21, 2007 6:30 PM
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Worth, I have to ask: why do you feel compelled to place your sticky fingers on the souls of atheists? We believe as we choose, you believe as you choose, and yet, I've never "prayed" that you would wake up to reality. Rather, I appreciate your comments, providing that you leave the beliefs of other people ALONE.
Posted by: Ashley | May 21, 2007 6:05 PM
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Worth, I have to ask: why do you feel compelled to place your sticky fingers on the souls of atheists? We believe as we choose, you believe as you choose, and yet, I've never "prayed" that you would wake up to reality. Rather, I appreciate your comments, providing that you leave the beliefs of other people ALONE.
Posted by: Ashley | May 21, 2007 6:05 PM
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Worth, I have to ask: why do you feel compelled to place your sticky fingers on the souls of atheists? We believe as we choose, you believe as you choose, and yet, I've never "prayed" that you would wake up to reality. Rather, I appreciate your comments, providing that you leave the beliefs of other people ALONE.
Posted by: Ashley | May 21, 2007 6:05 PM
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Worth: Get a life!
Posted by: candide | May 21, 2007 3:23 PM
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Candide, I hope your heart will be filled by the Holy Spirit and you find eternal hope and love in your walk through your time on earth. And even if that doesn't come to pass today or tomorrow, I do pray that your soul will enjoy the eternal, joyful life that was offered to you by God's Son, Jesus Christ.
Posted by: worth | May 21, 2007 2:52 PM
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Satisfaction to me, is to be able to be there, on
the spot when someone needs a helping hand, or
to be able to hug someone who's down and out, and
to reply that I can help. It's a different feeling
when you give someone a hug than only to say a few
words from a distance. Buce
Posted by: brucegroh | May 21, 2007 11:55 AM
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Someone on an Atheist Blog just said something very important.
If the Bible were written not in the beautiful archaic language of the King James version -- where some of the meanest ideas and beliefs are washed over in lavender and perfume -- we would see in its naked viciousness the barbarism of those ancient Semites who wrote the Bible.
Posted by: candide | May 21, 2007 11:45 AM
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Jim Cooper,
If you can find your way to being fully present in the present monent, you will have everything you could want, without effort. No God required.
Posted by: Norrie Hoyt | May 19, 2007 9:11 PM
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Maybe it's the teacher in me, but I like to feel like I've completed an assignment and I'm ready for the next one. (Although lately there has been more overlap than I'd like.) I guess feeling beloved means different things to different people.
Posted by: Viejita del oeste | May 19, 2007 12:47 AM
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