Never Satisfied

Over the past few months I've started getting back in touch with my artistic side. But there is a problem. I'm never satisfied. I tend to be a perfectionist, so as soon as I make one mistake with my work, I get frustrated. When looking at the end result I usually am never happy. The letters feel sloppy, or the thought, "would anyone even be able to tell what this is?!" runs through my mind. And then I give it away so I don't have to look at it and hope that they person will either be excited because, "it's the thought that counts" or gracefully hide it somewhere for no one to see.

As I was painting my most recent project I was thinking about all these issues, and wondered why I didn't just give it up. The next thought was, "I feel a blog post coming on."

We often come to points of complacency in our walk with God. We feel fine with where we are at and have no desire to dig deeper in the Word, to live a life of prayer, to reach out to others, or to ask God what He wants to teach us. It may not feel wrong. Life feels okay, and nothing seems terribly upsetting, but nothing is super excellent either. Everything is just average. Sometimes I find myself almost wishing for a life like that, because I seem to live in a constant state of rush and average sounds nice.

But is it, really? 

We are called to more than average, as Believers in Christ. We should never be satisfied with where we are at. While we find rest and peace in Christ's salvation, that should spur us on to knowing more and more of Christ. To live a life of continuous prayer. To reach out to help and love others. Never stop learning about your faith, and looking for answers to your questions. When things are difficult to understand, don't get frustrated. Pray, seek, and search. God will reveal His answers in time. Don't just hide your faith because you think it's not worth sharing. Boldly proclaim it. Lift each other up through words. Strive to make your life a living example, despite the flaws.

Keep in mind, that it is all in vain without the love of Christ dwelling in us. We are seeing pieces of the bigger picture, but God knows all. We will never be truly satisfied until we see Him face to face. I am so thankful that He knows me and loves me.

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.