The God-sized hole

Last night we went to our small group where we meet with five other couples to "do life" together for a couple of years. We have been sharing our "stories" in order to get to know one another and be vulnerable with one another so that we can be REAL together.

All of our stories are different. But they are all the same. Everyone one of us has pain and disappointment and hurts in our lives. From those who look like they have perfect lives to those who carry a little more weight on their shoulders. We have all been in the same place. The place where we have felt the emptiness, have tried to fill that emptiness, and we had to make the decision of what to do with it.

We all have a hole inside of us that we long to fill. We fill it with sex, alcohol, drugs, perfection, control, friends, children. But those things never fill the hole. They can't fill the hole - because they do not fit. We all have a God-sized hole that ONLY He can fill. All of us. We are no different. Jesus isn't for the beautiful, the rich, the good, the smart, the organized, the middle class, those who have it all together. Jesus is for the broken. And we are all broken.

It does not matter who you are or where you're from or what you've done or how you've lived or the decisions you've made. The truth is there is no other way to fill the emptiness inside of you except through the cross of Christ. He loves you. You, with all of your mistakes and your bad decisions and your sins. He loves you. He loves me, with my sins and my struggles and my bad decisions. God only sees you through eyes of love. And once you give your life to Christ, God does not see your past mistakes and sins. He only sees the love of Christ that has washed over you. When you come to Christ, you come by the way of repentance. You turn away from the bad and turn to The Good. You admit that He is the only One who can change you. He can. He will.

So many of us look at the world and have a hard time believing in and trusting God because of all the evil in the world. I have been one of those people. I have seen first hand injustice and unfairness and evil, but I have come to understand that the world is not evil because of guns and bombs and war and abuse and lust and greed. The world is evil because of the hearts behind those things. Hearts that are empty do evil things.

The cross is offensive because it demands a new lifestyle. Sin is a disease that is incurable without God's love. Yes, the cross is offensive, but God's love is not. God watched His only son die a horrible and painfully cruel death - that we deserved. But God knew that the only way for us to be cured from the disease of sin was by the blood of His son.

Grace. God's grace fills that hole that each one of us has. Grace is something that we do not deserve, but it is offered to us anyway. And that is what God offers. Amazing grace.

I encourage you to watch this message from Billy Graham. It has two people in this video that you would not expect - a gang member and a girl who was suicidal. But God rescued them. He didn't judge them, He loved them. He loves you.

http://youtu.be/bba2Dqaw6SI