Empty Things
An empty tank of gas won't get you to work. An empty container of shampoo won't clean your hair. An empty pantry won't feed your hungry brood. (I actually happen to know those last two to be fact from just this past weekend). An empty bank account won't pay the bills.
Empty promises leave you disappointed. Empty nesters often feel lonely. Empty bags of chocolate contribute to the onset of depression. (I kid). Empty toilet paper rolls leave you, well.... poo.
Empty stomachs yearn to be filled. Empty thoughts reveal ignorance.
Empty hearts long for fulfillment.
Empty: 1). containing nothing; not filled or occupied. 2). lacking meaning or sincerity
When we encounter empty things, typically we experience a lack of productivity, fulfillment and satisfaction. I never enjoy finding the chocolate ice cream container empty in the freezer. Ever. Empty things don't provide. Empty things disappoint.
Last night, my husband stood on the plot of land where our old church building once resided, and acknowledged it as an empty thing. An empty plot of land. No life. Just dirt. Dry, hard, crumbly red dirt where a building use to stand. Once full, now empty.
As he reminisced on the days following our church fire, he connected those events to Jesus dying on the cross. Once so full of life, now emptied. A building that didn't seem much like one would expect a church to look like, similar to a Messiah that didn't come in a way that was much as some expected. Not a mighty conquering king, but a servant sent to serve.
Beaten, cursed, wrongly accused, tortured, ridiculed-all for my sin. The wages of which were once full, now emptied. He bled. He died. I live.
Had the story ended there, the Christian faith would be another empty thing. Prophesy unfulfilled, hope lost, a Savior who came and promised life, yet surrendered to death.
But that's not how the story ends. Death did not have the final say. For there is one empty thing that brought hope to all who witnessed it and all who will believe today. The tomb. The empty tomb.
"They (the women) found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said... "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again?" They remembered his words." Luke 24:2-8
It took a little bit for the women and the disciples they rushed to tell, to understand what had happened. In fact, even after seeing the empty tomb themselves, they still didn't fully understand. Their initial response was one of confusion. Followed by fear for some. After all, they'd witnessed their Messiah's death on the cross. They'd seen Him buried. Despite the confusion, they ran and they told those that they came in contact with. It wasn't until a little later in the evening, when Jesus appears to His disciples that understanding arrives.
"He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." vs 45
Then Scripture tells us that He opened their minds (through the Holy Spirit) so they could understand all He'd spoken then and earlier.
All through the testaments, both old and new, the Prophecies tell of this very outplaying of events. These things were not new to the disciples, they'd learned of them time and again. Jesus was the content and fulfillment of the Old Testament. Now He was giving them a full understanding of this.
"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." vs 49
After Jesus blessed the disciples, he left and was taken up into Heaven.
"Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with GREAT JOY. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." vs. 52-53
What a change of circumstances we see here! Christ once dead, now alive. A tomb once filled, now empty. Followers, once empty, now filled by the Holy Spirit. Hope unlike anything they'd known before.
Maybe you are feeling empty, searching for more. Are there places within you longing to be filled? Would you allow Jesus to fill those places with His Holy Spirit? You don't have to know all the answers, you don't have to understand all the Scriptures. You don't even have to be fully convinced you believe everything the Bible says this very second. The very men who walked daily with Jesus did not understand all of these things until He opened their hearts to understanding, though the lived it out with Him! As it did for the disciples. those things will come for you, as the Holy Spirit imparts Himself upon your life. You simply have to surrender. Acknowledge your sinful nature, ask the Lord to forgive the areas where your actions contradict His perfect nature, turn away from those things and walk toward Him. He's waiting for you. He loves you so. You don't have to have it all together. He's never asked that of you.
"My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in (your) weakness." says the Lord.
You don't have to be empty, searching for contentment in areas that always return void. Choose life. After all, emptiness never satisfies.
Unless of course, we're talking about the tomb.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Empty promises leave you disappointed. Empty nesters often feel lonely. Empty bags of chocolate contribute to the onset of depression. (I kid). Empty toilet paper rolls leave you, well.... poo.
Empty stomachs yearn to be filled. Empty thoughts reveal ignorance.
Empty hearts long for fulfillment.
Empty: 1). containing nothing; not filled or occupied. 2). lacking meaning or sincerity
When we encounter empty things, typically we experience a lack of productivity, fulfillment and satisfaction. I never enjoy finding the chocolate ice cream container empty in the freezer. Ever. Empty things don't provide. Empty things disappoint.
Last night, my husband stood on the plot of land where our old church building once resided, and acknowledged it as an empty thing. An empty plot of land. No life. Just dirt. Dry, hard, crumbly red dirt where a building use to stand. Once full, now empty.
As he reminisced on the days following our church fire, he connected those events to Jesus dying on the cross. Once so full of life, now emptied. A building that didn't seem much like one would expect a church to look like, similar to a Messiah that didn't come in a way that was much as some expected. Not a mighty conquering king, but a servant sent to serve.
Beaten, cursed, wrongly accused, tortured, ridiculed-all for my sin. The wages of which were once full, now emptied. He bled. He died. I live.
Had the story ended there, the Christian faith would be another empty thing. Prophesy unfulfilled, hope lost, a Savior who came and promised life, yet surrendered to death.
But that's not how the story ends. Death did not have the final say. For there is one empty thing that brought hope to all who witnessed it and all who will believe today. The tomb. The empty tomb.
"They (the women) found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightening stood beside them. In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said... "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again?" They remembered his words." Luke 24:2-8
It took a little bit for the women and the disciples they rushed to tell, to understand what had happened. In fact, even after seeing the empty tomb themselves, they still didn't fully understand. Their initial response was one of confusion. Followed by fear for some. After all, they'd witnessed their Messiah's death on the cross. They'd seen Him buried. Despite the confusion, they ran and they told those that they came in contact with. It wasn't until a little later in the evening, when Jesus appears to His disciples that understanding arrives.
"He said to them, This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms." vs 45
Then Scripture tells us that He opened their minds (through the Holy Spirit) so they could understand all He'd spoken then and earlier.
All through the testaments, both old and new, the Prophecies tell of this very outplaying of events. These things were not new to the disciples, they'd learned of them time and again. Jesus was the content and fulfillment of the Old Testament. Now He was giving them a full understanding of this.
"I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high." vs 49
After Jesus blessed the disciples, he left and was taken up into Heaven.
"Then they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with GREAT JOY. And they stayed continually at the temple, praising God." vs. 52-53
What a change of circumstances we see here! Christ once dead, now alive. A tomb once filled, now empty. Followers, once empty, now filled by the Holy Spirit. Hope unlike anything they'd known before.
Maybe you are feeling empty, searching for more. Are there places within you longing to be filled? Would you allow Jesus to fill those places with His Holy Spirit? You don't have to know all the answers, you don't have to understand all the Scriptures. You don't even have to be fully convinced you believe everything the Bible says this very second. The very men who walked daily with Jesus did not understand all of these things until He opened their hearts to understanding, though the lived it out with Him! As it did for the disciples. those things will come for you, as the Holy Spirit imparts Himself upon your life. You simply have to surrender. Acknowledge your sinful nature, ask the Lord to forgive the areas where your actions contradict His perfect nature, turn away from those things and walk toward Him. He's waiting for you. He loves you so. You don't have to have it all together. He's never asked that of you.
"My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in (your) weakness." says the Lord.
You don't have to be empty, searching for contentment in areas that always return void. Choose life. After all, emptiness never satisfies.
Unless of course, we're talking about the tomb.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
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