Emptiness
Come home from work, click, try to escape the worries of the day in some make believe world, click. Scantily clad ladies parading down the streets in New York trying to get the attention of every man they see, friends meeting in a bar to end their day with a drink and hopefully hooking up with a good looking stranger, or rough sea captains bleeping mad at their crew for smoking pot on the job. The empty metallic cube faces me pouring out stories of both real and imagined lives without Christ and I feel the emptiness gnawing, growing, crowding out all truth and meaning.
The clawing for success, the boasting and pride of a job well done, the flaunting of finances, talents and looks, the allure of sexual satisfaction, the hedonism of pleasure seeking… it all rings empty. What is the real meaning of life? What is the purpose of days beyond making it through each labor filled moment? Is it really fulfilling to seek pleasure as my ultimate goal?
I feel a hollow spot in my soul when I look at these lives. The outside might look good, even appealing, but there is no depth, no purpose and no meaning. Without Christ, we would all come to the conclusion that money, fame, sex, and pleasure can’t fill the emptiness of a God shaped void. And yet, we keep trying to mask our emptiness or satisfy the cravings of our soul with everything but the One that could really satisfy.
Even those people who have chosen Christ and follow Him can be lured away by the world’s tantalizing offers. We think, “God would want me to be happy, right?” But, we don’t realize that cream puffs will never fill an empty soul the way the Bread of Life can. And God wants us healthy more than He wants us “happy”, right?
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life
handed down to you from your forefathers,1 Peter 1:18
We’ve been redeemed, rescued, saved from the emptiness of the world, so it’s time we lived like it. The sugary sweet appeal of hedonistic pleasures are an empty way of life and we’ve been redeeming into a life of meaning and purpose. Our true purpose is to glorify God, to be filled with His grace and peace so that we don’t need to turn to the emptiness of the world anymore.
A full life radiates when compared to a shell of a life. May others see purpose and meaning in our lives that could only come from a deep and rich relationship with our Savior.
Finding my fullness in Him,
Heather
What a wonderful post! I too feel the same way you do as I look at the lives around me. I was once on of them . . .so blinded to Truth. I pray that my life will now shine brightly so that others will want what I have . . . an intimate relationship with the living God.
Blessings to you sister!
Cherie
So true! I know exactly what you mean.
Amen to that Heather. We often run after empty promises or fulfillment; and often get hurt in the process. May we radiate His light in the world.