lately i've realized a repetitive theme within my prayers... a desire to be broken. a desire to be brought back to that place of complete dependence on Christ. ...trying so helplessly to get to that place of brokenness --- the sense/state of being empty. why is it so difficult? why is it that the only times i've ever found complete satisfaction was when i was completely empty?
how do we get there? why is this required for the Christian life? this was my conclusion: the empty life is the fulfilled life. when we are broken, we are complete. we are satisfied and filled with Christ. the importance of being emptied is so that we can be filled with Christ, reaching the goal that He has set for us --- to become more like Him. it is in this state of surrender that we are completely, fully, relying on Him, and thus giving Him glory.
in order to reach this point of fulfillment, complete joy, we must be emptied of self. can it really be true? "an emptier, fuller life," as in the words of Ann Voskamp. this is not a state of lacking, though the word "empty" may insinuate. i find the concept difficult to grasp, even fathom. the fact that we must be empty in order to be complete, satisfied. --- a state of fulfillment. it is when we are empty -- emptied of self -- that we realize we are truly filled.
the empty life. a life worth dying for.
most of you know how much i treasure the illustration in john 12:24 --- the kernel of wheat. recently i learned the physical reasons behind this metaphor. a kernel of wheat is literally stripped of everything it once was in order to be transformed into bread. from grain -- to bread. i think many of us tend to overlook this process. here's a glimpse into the life a grain of wheat...
first, it is cut down, bundled, and hung out to dry.
it is threshed, beaten down, and trampled,
in order to break the grain away from the stalk.
in order to break the grain away from the stalk.
next it is winnowed, or thrown in the air
to remove the chaff.
to remove the chaff.
then it is shaken in a sieve
to sift out any remaining impurities.
to sift out any remaining impurities.
it is ground to powder (flour) and used
to make bread.
to make bread.
we are commanded to be this kernel of wheat. to dye to self. the empty life is truly a life worth dying for. a life of dying to self. a life of giving up everything we've claimed as ours. we must be beaten, ripped from a life revolving around self, shaken, and sifted of impurities. but yet this life, is one that we should yearn for and desire above all things.
broken. emptied. fulfilled.
the empty life. the life of true, complete joy.
"But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss...because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own... but that which comes through faith in Christ... that I may know Him.
- philippians 3:7-10
i'd love to hear thoughts on this idea i've been wrestling with... feel free to leave a comment after reading!
SDG
5 comments:
I think you have grasped what so many "American" christians do not. Complete dependence on christ. So many christians put thier faith in things they can control. Thier money, thier future, thier career.Instead of putting that trust in christ. When we trully die to ourselves, we no longer trust in what we can control. We give that illusion of control to Him, and allow him to be the source of supply. Its now his money, his future, his career. And when we completely give him our lives, we find that He does a much better job at managing them than we ever could. Good post, sister in christ! I needed this reminder. Andrew K. Armour
The empty life. one that needs pursuing. before I talk about an empty life I would like to define a full life. a full life from the worlds view is a life where you are in charge and running the show. it was my idea. I have achieved this. I will be full of me. I feel it is one where there is room for only one. that's what I kinda think a full life might be. an empty life is worth it because in your heart their is room for one God. when you remove all the other stuff in there God then has the whole place to Himself. He becomes the one in charge and control. I think for me it is way more fulfilling to have God in charge than me. he has plans to prosper us, not to harm us. we were made to to filled with Him and until we clear out our "full life" we can't have fulfillment. thats my thoughts on the topic. feel free to correct me.
Well said, Em. Empty of self. Full of Christ.
Emily, I came across this quote by David Brainerd the other day (via John Piper's Desiring God), and I thought of your post!
"Of late God has been pleased to keep my soul hungry almost continually, so that I have been filled with a kind of pleasing pain. When I really enjoy God, I feel my desires of Him the more insatiable and my thirstings after holiness more unquenchable."
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