Becoming Whole
03/03/2017 14:31
My son’s been using a stainless steel water bottle. He fills it each night, tucks it into his backpack and takes it with him to work. This sleek silver bottle is long and large and houses an ample supply of water—750 mls of it. It lasted a long time—but as it often happens, one day, it cracked. I soon bought him a replacement. The new bottle was identical to his previous one and Asela was very pleased. Unfortunately his new shiny acquistiion didn’t enjoy the same life span of its predecssor. The very next evening my son came to me, an apology etched across his face.
“I’m really sorry, Ammi, but my bottle broke today!”
“What? Already? But … it’s a brand new bottle, Asela!”
“I know. I really am sorry. I bent down to tie my shoelace and the bottle fell out of my bag. The lid broke. I can’t use it.”
I examined the bottle. Hmmm. It was just one of those unfortunate happenings. An accident. The bottle had no use, the way it was. “I know what I’ll do.” he said. “ I can fix the top of my old bottle onto my new one.” Voila! And so it was, that we fitted the old bottle top onto his brand new bottle. Did it work? Yes, it did. Perfectly.
Blaise Pascal was a French Mathematician, Physicist, Philosopher and Scientist who lived in the 17th century. Listen to what he said: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every person, and it can never be filled by any created thing. It can only be filled by God, made known through Jesus Christ.” At the tender age of 16, I discovered that what Pascal said was true. I pondered then if life’s little round was all there was. Not that I lacked anything. I’d enjoyed a very happy childhood with parents who loved me dearly. Life was good. But … surely there was more?
What do you and I need to be complete? If I look inside my heart, I see a dark stain of sin within. And there is a space inside each of us which cries out to be filled. We need forgiveness. Hope. Renewal. We need a Saviour. The glad news is that a Saviour did come to show us the way back to God. His Name is Jesus. He lived a sinless life, but but He was put to death on a cross. On that rugged cross, sin was defeated once and for all time, and Jesus rose again to live forever. His death and resurrection cancelled the debt of all our sin.
What a gift - the undeserved goodness of God being lavished upon us. Jesus said ”I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6. And here's a promise for all who come to Him in faith. John 1:12 tell us “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, to them gave he power to become children of God.”
Do you call yourself a child of God? If not, would you like to?
My son’s broken new bottle was almost complete ... but not quite. Without its top it could hold water. It even looked new and shiny but was ready to be thrown away. What a waste! Thankfully, the old bottle-top made it whole again. Is there something missing in your life? The Saviour of the World is waiting to connect with you. He longs to bring you into His Kingdom.
Will you step out in faith and reach out to Him today?
“God so loved the world, that He gave His only one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
