“You Complete Me!”

I’ve been working on a term paper for my “Systematic Theology” class this week, and have not been able to pull my head out of academia long enough to produce a cogent devotional thought. But a statement in an article about Arnold Schwarzenegger and Marie Shriver’s separation caught my attention.

A divorce lawyer who was interviewed for the article speculated: “People have little tolerance nowadays for relationships that don’t fulfill them in all aspects.” That statement pretty much sums up the ethic of the day—I need someone to complete me.  Everyone is searching for that “one” person.

If our lives were like a cup, we would certainly want to fill it with positive emotions and genuine fulfillment in life. And at a very early age, we begin to look for what we think can fill up our cups with positive things. We look to one of three sources, or all three, for the fullness we want—acceptance, worth, or performance. When Martha tried to be fulfilled by her performance, Jesus told her she had missed the “one” thing that Mary had chosen. When the rich young man tried to prove his worth by his good deeds, Jesus told him he had missed the “one” thing. When the woman at the well was trying to fulfill herself through acceptance, Jesus told her about the “one” that could satisfy her.

What is the ONE thing they missed? That Jesus was the only “One” who could fulfill them. And He is the only “One” to whom it is quite appropriate to say “You complete me!”