Have you settled?

"I pray that . . . (you) know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." -- Eph. 3:19

You know those snow-globe things, right? The glass balls you shake so everything floats around to make it look like it's snowing? It's neat for a few seconds, but pretty soon the "snow" settles and you're left with an expensive paper weight.

It's a principle of gravity and physics. Without some kind of internal or external shaking, particles settle. They fall to the bottom.

Unfortunately, the same can be said of our faith and our walk with Jesus. Without intentionality, our prayer lives become mundane and boring. Without focus, our time in the Word of God becomes, at best, a habit; at worst, a good intention that never happens. Without purpose, our worship becomes a motion we go through instead of an experience we long for.

I believe far too many of us have "settled" in areas of our lives when the Father in heaven wants, oh, so much more!

Paul prayed for the folks at Ephesus to "be filled with all the fullness of God." Do you hear the words "filled," "all" and "fullness?" Can you honestly use those words to describe your life today? Or, instead, does "empty," "none" and "deadness" come closer?

If the latter is more true, that's probably because you've "settled." You've settled for a nice, safe God instead of a supernatural God who delights in our steps of risky faith. You've settled for a prayer life that is more of a requirement rather than the highest privilege in all the world. You've settled for a luke-warm, watered-down version of the life that Jesus wants for you.

John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, explained Eph. 3:19 this way: "We are to be filled with all His light, love, wisdom, holiness, power and glory. A perfection far beyond a bare freedom from sin."

A bare freedom from sin? O, how many of us would long for just that! Freedom from sin that causes us to fall and hurt others and bring us shame and guilt. But Wesley believed -- and rightly so -- that Jesus offers us much, much more than just freedom from sin.

He offers a life FILLED with ALL the FULLNESS of God.

Is that your life today . . . or have you settled for something less?