How could it be possible? Can Christians be empty? Aren't we of all people supposed to have found truth and meaning and joy? Aren't we supposed to be filled with the Holy Spirit? I know firsthand that they can be empty. I know that the less I intentionally pursue Christ, the more my desire for worldly things grows, and my control over worldly appetites diminishes. If I am not being filled by Him, I will look to fill myself with other things.
To once again quote Calvin Miller, "Emptiness leaves us wanton till we fill it with whatever secondary appetite might seem to stop our hungers of soul...when God fills our inner vacuum with his Holy Spirit, life works. When God does not fill the vacuum, a host of consuming appetites swarm through our better intentions..."
Wow, do I ever know what that feels like. As Christians, we know what is right. But when we are not filled up by a vibrant relationship with Christ, our actions and our knowledge of the truth tend to become slowly separated.
I remember the stage of my life when I was turning to the Lord, and becoming serious about my faith. I liked the thought of having a relationship the the Lord. And I knew what was right. But I actually felt as though I would never NOT want to do all the fun stuff - smoke, drink, etc. Yet I also recall the brilliant and burning appetite I inexplicably had for scripture. I was about 16, and after a series of experiences, I had seriously committed my life to the Lord. I would often wake up at 5 or 6 to read the Bible and pray. The particular stage lasted maybe a few months, and I have never recovered a similar hunger for the Bible. But as I developed my relationship with God, the desires for old things actually begin to fall away like scales, and I no longer considered them a struggle.
In the movie, "Fireproof", (a very popular movie in Christian circles, which most people thought was cheesy, but which brought tears to my eyes), there is a line that goes, "Don't just follow your heart. You've got to lead your heart." The complacent, empty heart is an incredibly dark and ugly place. There isn't a worse guide than the unguided human heart.
Calvin Miller remarks, "The seven deadly sins rarely root themselves in a busy, purposeful life. All of them grow best in the soil of human emptiness."
The question I asked earlier may apply. Can Christians be empty? I don't know. A Christian is someone who has a relationship with their Heavenly Father, however infantile and immature that relationship may be. But can we be a Christian with virtually no intent given to it? "No Christian is quite so dead as one whose vitality has been sapped by being out of touch with God."
No comments:
Post a Comment