Spirit & Truth # 294
“Empty”
By Greg Smith
Noah’s
Ark.[i] Moses’ floating basket.[ii] The Ark of the Covenant.[iii] What do these three things have in
common? How about a manger,[iv]
or a widow’s jar,[v] or
virgins’ lamps,[vi] or six
stone water pots?[vii] What
unites all these things? They were all
empty before they could be filled.
Now,
I don’t generally like to state the obvious, but I think it’s apparent that in
order for something to be filled, it first needs to be empty. That doesn’t take a genius to figure out.
People who claim to be optimists say
that they’d rather see the glass not as half-empty, but as half-full. Most people would rather see the glass as
full to the brim. We fill our lives with
all sorts of “good” activities that the world tells us will make us better
people. Baseball teaches character. PTA meetings show that you’re an involved
parent. Committee work gets things done
around church. Movies are a welcome
diversion from a hectic schedule. Yes,
indeed—we do like to live full lives!
Not only are our schedules full—our
minds are full as well. Full of to-do
lists for the day. Full of fears. Full of pride in a job well-done. Full of plans and dreams and hopes. Full of ego.
Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the
full.”[viii] But is this the kind of fullness that the
Savior meant?
Jesus didn’t come that we could have
full schedules. Jesus didn’t come so
that we could have full minds. He came
that our lives may be filled with His Spirit.
Time after time the New Testament makes reference to people being filled
with, or full of the Holy Spirit. But in
order to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you must first be empty. No vessel can be filled when it is already
full. When you’re full of yourself, how
can there be any room for God to get in?
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV) says, “But we have
this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from
God and not from us.” The treasure is
the Gospel, and the jars of clay are our mortal lives. But we, as vessels for God, must first be
emptied before we can be filled.
A bellows is used to blow air on hot
coals, to cause them to burn into flame.
Believers can let God use them as bellows, fanning into flame the gift
that has been stirred up within ourselves and others. But first, we must be empty. If you fill up a bellows with sand or any
other material, it can’t be filled with air.
It is the bellows’ emptiness that makes it useful. My prayer for you (strange as it may sound)
is not that you’ll life a full life—that is, full of activities and ego and
striving. My prayer is that you will
live an empty life—ready to be filled by God and used for His glory. For only when we are empty can we be filled
with the Spirit of Christ.
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