The Quest For Completion

Understanding the truth of completion that comes from above.

Introduction

Growing up, I was never the biggest gamer, but I do have fond memories on the Nintendo Wii, the PSP, and the Playstation 2 just to name a few. I was what you would call a social gamer, I'd only play when I was around friends, mostly as a quest to fit in. However there was one game in particular that I would constantly find myself playing on my own and that was the infamous GTA: San Andreas. On the average school day my friends would all gather round and share their accomplishments on the game discussing how many “missions” they had completed successfully. Even though I played the game, I still felt like an outsider in these conversations because I didn’t have the patience, skill, or diligence to play the game how it was “supposed” to be played. I failed at every mission I tried to complete so I abandoned the missions for aimless gallivanting with the characters. This in turn meant that I never officially completed the game. Therefore, by default I had to be completely eliminated from any conversations at school that encompassed boasting on the accomplishments of successfully completing the hardest missions. When I reflected on the thoughts that would go through my mind as a boy, I realised that these things had deep psychological parallels to “real life” experiences. I had subtle feelings of inadequacy because I failed to merit my way into the high achievers club of the gamers hall of fame.

Now I speak with a hint of sarcasm, but doesn’t this seem like a familiar story in various facets of life? Think about all of the conversations you were excluded from because you lacked the adequate qualifications to boast. As human beings we have an innate desire to overcome. We like to be the heroes of our challenging realities. This human truth is also mirrored through virtual games and the movies we watch. The point remains the same, it is human nature to desire glory in overcoming obstacles of defeat. Whether you are climbing up a corporate ladder, playing a competitive sport, practicing some sort of religion, or even playing a video game. Glory comes when victory is achieved but shame consumes when the obstacles triumph and leave you in defeat. If you reach the conquest of completion, then you are the hero living in much deserved self glorification. If you fail to reach the conquest of completion, you will look for it in another area of life because your heart won't stop until it finds that place of glory.

But Are You Satisfied In That Place?

I believe that the quest for completion is actually the quest for peace and satisfaction. As human beings, we believe that the things we are striving for will complete us and will ultimately satisfy our souls. This story only ends with two different outcomes:

1. “The Hero on a Hamster Wheel”
   The first outcome is when you achieve the goal that would give you the right to glory. Over here, you feel good for a moment. You become the hero of your story until your conscience kicks in to tell you that you are still not complete (1 John 3:20). You thought you found completion in deed but you realised that it was still lacking in identity. This is where you embark on another quest of accomplishment. Driven but empty; motivated but unfulfilled. This is thinking that you are the hero in a dark tunnel sprinting towards the light of glory. But in reality you’re a hamster on a merry-go-round, simply revolving but not evolving.

2. “The Victim in a Pit”
   The second outcome is when you fail at achieving the goal that would give you the right to glory. Over here, shame kicks in. You become the victim who has been dealt a hard deck of cards. You believe that completion is almost impossible so you find satiation in habits and vices. Habits then turn to addictions that nourish your feelings of inadequacy. Over here your life isn’t driven by the desire to accomplish; it’s driven by the desire to feel good. This is where you feel high when you’re low. This is where your method of sedation becomes the author of your joy. Over here, you’re the victim in a pit; with occasional bliss.

I’ll be the first to admit it, I have been an active member of both of these camps for most of my life. Even when I found God, my idea of what that meant had me running on a hamster wheel, driven with the desire to merit my completion in him. This was a bid to attain the temporary glory that came with overcoming (II Corinthians 3:9-18). However, every time I failed I ran back to the soothing vices that used to keep me comfortable in the pit of victimhood (I Corinthians 15:56-57). It became apparent that these two camps were two sides of the same coin. In life, it is impossible to be the hero of your destiny without being a victim in your reality. Unfortunately for many, the quest for completion doesn’t end until life ends whether or not you’re the self professed hero or victim in your story.

Completion Ends Where It Begins.

As I began to grow in my faith, and take God’s word for what it is, I couldn’t avoid the fact that the Bible teaches us that the quest for completion ends where it begins. Spiritually speaking, completion is not a result of human effort. It is a result of faith, believing in the work that was sacrificially performed and finished for us on our behalf ; so that we can obtain an inheritance of completion driven by God’s unconditional love towards us.

And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power

Colossians 2:10

For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.

Romans 10:4

Can you attest to the fact that disappointment usually comes from failed quests and missions? Can you attest to the fact that perpetual cycles of motivation and apathy comes from a lack of satisfaction when you finally achieve what you set out to attain?If your answer is yes, then the message of the Gospel would make more sense to you. It puts an end to striving and the repeated cycles of disappointment that comes as a result of trying to earn victory, peace, satisfaction and completion on your own accord. I speak on this because the Bible is not a tool for self glorification. It is the revelation of truth. It is not a tool to aid you on your personal quest for completion. It is the revelation of the truth of completion found in the person of Jesus Christ.

Are you willing to accept victory as a gift?

In Christ, you are not the hero but you are a victor. Victory becomes your positional reality the very moment it is received. The world will constantly tell you that victory comes as a result of hard work. This is true in the workplace, and it is true in the Olympics. But it is so far from the truth in light of eternity. The efforts of man don’t produce an identity of completion, yet an identity of completion is the motivating force behind the efforts of man. This letter, like many others, is set out to reiterate that completion comes from above. Just as a phone cannot charge itself, a man cannot find completion in his spiritual identity through the work of his hands.

Announcements

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• The return of the podcast (It’s actually coming this time around)

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• There is much more in store so please stay tuned!

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