Over the years, I've heard a number of people teach or say something along these lines...
In the Bible we read stories about how Jesus taught and interacted with people. In Mark 10:17-22, we read that Jesus was approached by a man who had a lot going for him in this world. We often call him the "rich young ruler" based on what we can learn about him in several of the gospels. He had money, he had youth, and he had power. He found his identity in these things and also found some amount of fulfillment in his life from these things.
But there was one thing missing from his life. So he came to Jesus to fill this one "hole" in his otherwise nicely built life. He said "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (v. 20). The one thing bothering this man was that he had no assurance of eternal life with God after death. This left him feeling that no matter how much he had, he was still missing something.
So after this interaction with Jesus, what was the result? Did the man get the missing piece of his life that he needed to feel complete? Was Jesus really the answer for the hole in his heart? In short, no.
Jesus did have the answer to eternal life, but the young man did not get the hole in his heart filled. This passage tells us that the man went away very sad. He did not get what he wanted. So what happened? Why didn't Jesus fill the hole or the void in his heart?
Jesus clearly understood the man's heart and wanted to get right to the root of the problem. You see, the young ruler's life was already mostly complete in his mind. His had filled his heart up with all kinds of things that made him feel fulfilled in life. And he asked if Jesus would fill one tiny spot left in his heart so that he could be complete.
God's intends for us to live the most fulfilled life ever possible. But we do not achieve this by filling our hearts full of all kinds of things, and then topping it off with God. On the contrary, Jesus taught very clearly that in order to gain this kind of life, we must be willing to give up the life that we've built for ourself and trade it for a life that God gives us.
This is why a respected, popular, rule-abiding, successful man can walk away from Jesus sad and without eternal life. And yet, a few chapters away we can read of a how despicable, dishonest tax collector named Levi gained a God-blessed and abundant life here and eternal life after. (Read this interesting story in Mark 2:13-17.) Levi was willing to treat his own life as not worth keeping. The rich young ruler valued his own life so much that he wouldn't accept the new life Jesus offered.
It comes down to this. God wants to fill our heart with truly valuable life that does not leave us empty. It leaves no holes. But in order for God to do this, we cannot start by filling up our hearts with everything we want first, and then top it off with God's stuff. We cannot approach Jesus saying "You know, I have a good life. I'm a good person, I love people, I'm respectable... Now if I just add God to my life, I'll really have a great life." No. Jesus says that we'll LOSE this way. He wants us to do what Levi the tax collector did: be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus.
So, am I saying you have to sell your house and quit your job to be a Christian? No, that's not what I'm saying. Honestly, if we're willing to submit our desires to God first, He may very well choose to use you right where you are. The point is that God wants us to fill our lives with Him first. He wants us to put all our hope and trust in Him to satisfy us and not hang on to other things for our satisfaction in life. That is the way it works. He wants us to "taste and see that He is good" (Psalm 34:8) to the degree that we don't need or want to hang our hat on worldly success, money, our good works, accomplishments, other people, etc. to make us happy.
Only when we value what God has for us more than anything the world has to offer, will we be able to live the most abundantly fulfilling life possible in this world. That's what the disciples were willing to do. That's what the rich young ruler was not willing to do.
Which life will you choose today?
"There's a God-shaped hole in everyone's heart."This message is then proceeded with the explanation that in order to fill this hole, we need a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. While I agree that this is exactly the right solution to the problem of having a life that is empty, I fear that this message severely misdiagnoses the problem being solved. Or more plainly, it is dangerous to think that that God's purpose in our life is to fill an empty part of our heart. In fact, that's contrary to what Jesus taught very plainly.
In the Bible we read stories about how Jesus taught and interacted with people. In Mark 10:17-22, we read that Jesus was approached by a man who had a lot going for him in this world. We often call him the "rich young ruler" based on what we can learn about him in several of the gospels. He had money, he had youth, and he had power. He found his identity in these things and also found some amount of fulfillment in his life from these things.
But there was one thing missing from his life. So he came to Jesus to fill this one "hole" in his otherwise nicely built life. He said "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" (v. 20). The one thing bothering this man was that he had no assurance of eternal life with God after death. This left him feeling that no matter how much he had, he was still missing something.
So after this interaction with Jesus, what was the result? Did the man get the missing piece of his life that he needed to feel complete? Was Jesus really the answer for the hole in his heart? In short, no.
Jesus did have the answer to eternal life, but the young man did not get the hole in his heart filled. This passage tells us that the man went away very sad. He did not get what he wanted. So what happened? Why didn't Jesus fill the hole or the void in his heart?
Jesus clearly understood the man's heart and wanted to get right to the root of the problem. You see, the young ruler's life was already mostly complete in his mind. His had filled his heart up with all kinds of things that made him feel fulfilled in life. And he asked if Jesus would fill one tiny spot left in his heart so that he could be complete.
God's intends for us to live the most fulfilled life ever possible. But we do not achieve this by filling our hearts full of all kinds of things, and then topping it off with God. On the contrary, Jesus taught very clearly that in order to gain this kind of life, we must be willing to give up the life that we've built for ourself and trade it for a life that God gives us.
Mark 3: 34-35Do you see that? Jesus taught very directly that if the rich young ruler was not willing to give up his life so that God could create a life of true value, then the man had no hope of ever living a truly complete life.
Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
John 12:25
The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
This is why a respected, popular, rule-abiding, successful man can walk away from Jesus sad and without eternal life. And yet, a few chapters away we can read of a how despicable, dishonest tax collector named Levi gained a God-blessed and abundant life here and eternal life after. (Read this interesting story in Mark 2:13-17.) Levi was willing to treat his own life as not worth keeping. The rich young ruler valued his own life so much that he wouldn't accept the new life Jesus offered.
It comes down to this. God wants to fill our heart with truly valuable life that does not leave us empty. It leaves no holes. But in order for God to do this, we cannot start by filling up our hearts with everything we want first, and then top it off with God's stuff. We cannot approach Jesus saying "You know, I have a good life. I'm a good person, I love people, I'm respectable... Now if I just add God to my life, I'll really have a great life." No. Jesus says that we'll LOSE this way. He wants us to do what Levi the tax collector did: be willing to leave everything to follow Jesus.
So, am I saying you have to sell your house and quit your job to be a Christian? No, that's not what I'm saying. Honestly, if we're willing to submit our desires to God first, He may very well choose to use you right where you are. The point is that God wants us to fill our lives with Him first. He wants us to put all our hope and trust in Him to satisfy us and not hang on to other things for our satisfaction in life. That is the way it works. He wants us to "taste and see that He is good" (Psalm 34:8) to the degree that we don't need or want to hang our hat on worldly success, money, our good works, accomplishments, other people, etc. to make us happy.
Only when we value what God has for us more than anything the world has to offer, will we be able to live the most abundantly fulfilling life possible in this world. That's what the disciples were willing to do. That's what the rich young ruler was not willing to do.
Which life will you choose today?
