Soulmate

"At the core of each of us is a compulsion for completion so strong that no single human can consistently fulfill it. There are times, glorious moments of intimacy and belonging (with family, friends, or a soul mate), that make us feel complete. But those times are few and far between. They are snapshots we paste into our mental scrapbook to fondly recall and treasure. Unfortunately for some, these moments become the mark against which their self-worth and significance in the relationship is now measured.

The heart of the issue here is personal significance. This need is woven into the fabric of our nature, our very being. The desperate need for significance is as real as any physical need we ever experience. And we'll do almost anything to get our need for significance met. Some seek money, prestige, beauty, success, achievements, or fame to satisfy the yearning, but sooner or later all of us look to relationships for a deeper level of personal fulfillment. We dream of a relationship that will complete our need for significance.

... We realize that even the most loving human relationship can never consistently quench our deepest need. Ask any married couple. Every husband and wife, no mater how loving and godly, has many times failed to provide what their partner has needed most.

So are we stuck, forever floundering between fleeting moments of relational fulfillment? 

Fortunately not.

While our earthly relationships will let us down time and time again, a relationship with God can be counted on to genuinely and fully meet our deepest need for significance... only God can ultimately and consistently love us when we are moody, when we make mistakes, and when we feel rejected and unloved by the person we counted on the most.

"God is love."

And we can rely on God's love. As the writer of the Psalm said, "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart." The New Testament says, "God lives in us and his love is made complete in us." Once we internalize this truth, we discover the ultimate cure for our compulsion for completion. We may heal our hurts, discard our masks, and even take ownership for our destiny, but ultimately, only God's love can make us whole."

He will walk with us all the way like a passionate lover.

His love is made complete in us.

Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott, "Relationships" (Michigan: Zondervan, 1998) 37-39