SEARCHLIGHT
Are you experiencing genuine fulfillment? Do you feel your life is meaningful?
SCRIPTURE
Boaz then addressed the elders and all the people in the town square that day: “You are witnesses today that I have bought from Naomi everything that belonged to Elimelech and Kilion and Mahlon, including responsibility for Ruth, the foreigner, the widow of Mahlon-I’ll take her as my wife and keep the name of the deceased alive along with his inheritance. The memory and reputation of the deceased is not going to disappear out of this family or from his hometown. To all this, you are witnesses this very day.” Ruth 4:9,10 The Message
SPOTLIGHT
Joe Weatherly told about someone who was experiencing genuine fulfillment: “Stubborn? Scared? I visited a leper colony in India a few years ago and watched a lovely American missionary nurse care for her patients. She dressed their rotting wounds and gave them injections. I could not help but ask, ‘Aren’t you afraid you will become a leper because you live so closely with these people?’ I shall never forget her reply, ‘Afraid?’ she asked, ‘Joe, I’m almost afraid I won’t become a leper. I want to be so closely identified with them that they will see that the Lord Jesus does live in me and they’ll come to know him as Savior.’…Yellow? Afraid? Not that girl! She had left her stubborn pride, her envy, her selfishness, and her fear at the cross when the Lord Jesus had whispered to her, “What are you going to do with your life?” [Campus Life, March,1958]
People understand fulfillment in many different ways. Some look for it in their job. They want job satisfaction, purpose, meaningfulness, and growth. Others look for it in their relationships. They want to experience love, family, and close friendships. And still other people look for a life filled with learning, adventure, goal achievement, spiritual exploration, savoring life’s moments or helping others. The understanding of a fulfilled life is very broad.
So how does a person know if he or she is experiencing genuine fulfillment? In the book of Ruth, the 3 main characters are Boaz, Ruth and Naomi. All of them teach us something about experiencing genuine fulfillment. They give us 3 different but complimentary perspectives.
Take, for example, Boaz. In today’s Scripture focus, he exemplified honor, unselfishness, generosity, purity, and so much more. He became the kinsman-redeemer for Ruth and Naomi. As a relative, he had the responsibility to help the relative in need. However, unlike the closest kinsman who refused to help, Boaz saw this as just not a responsibility but a privilege. [You can read more about the guardian-redeemer in Leviticus 25:25-55.] He did not have to have his lineage continue or his son named after him. All he wanted to do was to honor God. That was the satisfaction and fulfillment he longed for.
Recall the nurse who cared for the lepers. She said, “I want to be so closely identified with them that they will see that the Lord Jesus does live in me and they’ll come to know him as Savior.”
Mark it down. Ponder it. Pray about it. Here is what Boaz and the leper colony nurse teach us about genuine fulfillment:
- Fulfillment is experienced when you unselfishly give yourself to God and to those whom He brings across your path to help, serve and bless.
- Fulfillment is having a sense of satisfaction that results from investing your life unselfishly in others to glorify God rather than to invest in yourself and selfishly glorify yourself.
- Fulfillment is not all about you. Neither is it looking for an earthly reward. The greatest fulfillment is in glorifying God with your life.
Too few people know that the genuinely highest fulfillment and a sense of deep satisfaction come from unselfishly giving yourself away. You must first give yourself to Jesus Christ. And then secondly to others. Genuine fulfillment is not about what you get but what you give.
Someone said that “J-O-Y” can mean “J esus” first. “O thers” second and “Y ou” last. The order is very important. Some people unselfishly give of themselves to people but not to God. They take credit for giving to others. As a result, they bring glory and honor to themselves. Unfortunately, they resist the One who created them and gave them the ability to give.
When all you have is God’s, you can be sure that He will see to it that you make an impact in this world like none other. It will give you a great sense of fulfillment and satisfaction. Living happily ever after and leading a fulfilled life is giving 100% of your all to Jesus.
SOMETHING TO DO
- What are you doing with your life that leads to genuine fulfillment?
- What do you need to adjust to experience genuine fulfillment?
- How do you make Jesus your number one priority?
- How do you treat people, family, friends, and foes?
SOUL TIME PRAYER
Lord God, I am grateful to You for creating me. Help me to understand and experience genuine fulfillment and satisfaction. AMEN