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A common assertion, even preached from pulpits, is that all mankind
has some type of God shaped hole-in-their-heart that only God can
fill. The implication, if not outright claim, behind this is that
idea that all people are yearning for and seeking God to fill that
void. This is an untenable position in light of Scriptures.
Romans 3:10-12 As it is written: "There is no one righteous, not
even one; 11 there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there
is no one who does good, not even one." (NIV)
Regardless of Scriptures, this idea of following your heart has
permeated our culture. Even popular media and cartoons reflect the
"follow you heart" message that is implicit in the God
shaped hole idea. It is not only some Protestant teachers that have
used this imagery, Roman Catholic's appeal to it as well. One
Catholic writer even expands upon the imagery, claiming that we need
to enlarge the hole, to make room for more of God. As long as we do
the right things, the hole gets larger and larger:
If we're faithful to this season year after year, something wonderful
happens. We want to give God more and more room. The feeling lasts
longer and longer after Christmas. The God-shaped hole enlarges! Each
year it widens. Like a dilated pupil in the eye, people see more and
more of God in us and less and less of our own willfulness. We're
able to say with John the Baptist and the great saints, "He must
increase and I must decrease." One day we suddenly realize that
when Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord," the
God-shaped hole in her heart was the largest of all. (Page Zyromski,
The God-Shaped Hole, as found in the newsletter section of www.americancatholic.org)
This is in sharp contrast to Augustine. He acknowledged that as a
believer, God alone needed to remake his soul. A portion of his prayer:
The house of my soul is too small for you to come in to me; let it be
enlarged by you. It is in ruins, but I ask you to remake it. It
contains much that you will not be pleased to see; this I confess to
you and do not hide it. (Augustine, Confessions 1.5.6, written circa
397-398 A.D.)
Cults such as the Mormons have their own variation of this hole in
the heart theology. For the so-called "Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter Day Saints" they profess to have their "burning in
the bosom":
"In answer to our prayers, the Holy Ghost will teach us through
our feelings and thoughts... Heavenly Father will answer their
prayers, typically through feelings of their hearts and thoughts in
their minds." (Preach the Gospel, p. 39; this is the "2004
handbook utilized by the Mormon missionaries")
The Bible never tells us to follow our heart. In its fallen state,
our heart will most assuredly lead us astray. Even if there was some
God-shaped hole there, the Bible says we would not recognize it or we
would distort it beyond all recognition.
Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.
Who can understand it? (NIV)
Genesis 8:21 [Post Flood] The Lord smelled the pleasing aroma and
said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because
of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from
childhood. (NIV) [See Genesis 6:5 pre-flood]
Matthew 15:19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder,
adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. (NIV)
Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil
thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 greed,
malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All
these evils come from inside and make a man 'unclean.'" (NIV)
Psalms 36:1-2 Transgression speaks to the ungodly within his heart;
There is no fear of God before his eyes. 2 For it flatters him in his
own eyes Concerning the discovery of his iniquity and the hatred of
it. (NASU)
A hallmark of the New Covenant, as proclaimed by the Prophets, was
that God would give us a new heart, that he would write his righteous
law on our hearts. This is reflected by the apostle Paul who says we
were spiritually dead, but now made alive in Christ.
Ezekiel 36:26-27 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in
you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart
of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow
my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. (NIV)
Jeremiah 31:31-33 "The time is coming," declares the Lord,
"when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and
with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made
with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out
of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to
them," declares the Lord. 33 "This is the covenant I will
make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the
Lord. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their
hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. (NIV)
Ephesians 2:1-11 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and
sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this
world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is
now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived
among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature
and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by
nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God,
who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were
dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly
realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might
show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness
to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved,
through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-
9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God's
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God
prepared in advance for us to do. (NIV)
Where did the idea of a God shaped hole come from? Though a lot of
people use the phrase, few give credit to where they think it came
from. The few that do often quote it as:
Inside of every man there is a God-shaped vacuum that only god can
fill. - (Blaise) Pascal
or
Augustine's famous "God-shaped void"
a longer professed citation may look like this:
Blaise Pascal: 1623-1662 French Mathematician, "There is a
God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by
any created thing, but only by God, the Creator, made known through
Jesus Christ."
Another ancient writer, or early church father, Ambrose (337/340 -
397), is also often cited as being an original source for a similar
quotation, yet no reference seems to ever be given. Looking through
Ambrose's works I cannot find any reference that even comes close.
In reality, the philosopher and mathematician, Blaise Pascal
(1623-1662) actual said:
What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that
there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains
is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with
everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help
he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this
infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable
object; in other words by God himself. (Blaise Pascal, Pensees,
trans. A. J. Krailsheimer, 1993)
While Pascal statement could be perhaps summarized as one of the
earlier quotes, it does great injustice to Augustine (lived circa
354-430 A.D.) to attribute the same to him. The closest he came to
such a sentiment is found at the beginning of his Confessions:
Thou movest us to delight in praising Thee; for Thou hast formed us
for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they find rest in Thee
Lord, teach me to know and understand which of these should be first,
to call on Thee, or to praise Thee; and likewise to know Thee, or to
call upon Thee. But who is there that calls upon Thee without knowing
Thee? (Augustine, Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1 "He Proclaims
the Greatness of God, Whom He Desires to Seek and Invoke, Being
Awakened by Him", Section 1)
If we Biblically don't have a God shaped hole, then why do many
people, even those who never come to faith in Christ, wrestle with
spiritual issues? It's not a God-shaped hole they are trying to fill;
rather it's an eternity-shaped emptiness. God gave all mankind an
innate understanding that there is something beyond the here and now,
beyond this life. This is what drives a majority of people on the
planet (perhaps excluding true atheists, which are very hard to find)
to seek after something to give them explanation for eternity. Left
alone, without God's revelation, they will search for answers in all
the wrong things and places.
Eternity - A valid appeal to the lost
It's good to get, or keep, people thinking about eternity. We do so
in hope that that they will come to faith in the Eternal God, the
only true answer to their eternity dilemma. Knowledge of eternity has
been innately built into all mankind by or Creator.
Ecclesiastes 3:11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He
has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom
what God has done from beginning to end. (NIV)
Psalms 90:2 Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the
earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. (NIV)
God is the eternal or everlasting God...
Genesis 21:33 Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there
he called upon the name of the Lord, the Eternal God. (NIV)
Deuteronomy 33:27a The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are
the everlasting arms. (NIV)
Isaiah 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord, is the
Rock eternal. (NIV)
Jeremiah 10:10a But the Lord is the true God; he is the living God,
the eternal King. (NIV)
Romans 16:25-27 Now to him who is able to establish you by my gospel
and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of
the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made
known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal
God, so that all nations might believe and obey him- 27 to the only
wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen. (NIV)
1 Timothy 1:17 Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen. (NIV)
Daniel 4:34 At the end of that time, I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my
eyes toward heaven, and my sanity was restored. Then I praised the
Most High; I honored and glorified him who lives forever. His
dominion is an eternal dominion ... (NIV)
John 3:36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever
rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on
him." (NIV)
John 6:67-68 "You do not want to leave too, do you?" Jesus
asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, "Lord, to whom
shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (NIV)
John 17:1-3 "Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that
your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all
people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given
him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (NIV)
Mark 10:17-22 As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and
fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked,
"what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 18 "Why do
you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except
God alone. 19 You know the commandments: 'Do not murder, do not
commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not
defraud, honor your father and mother.'" 20 "Teacher,"
he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." 21
Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he
said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and
you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." 22 At
this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great
wealth. (NIV)
Luke 10:25-29 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test
Jesus. "Teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit
eternal life?" 26 "What is written in the Law?" he
replied. "How do you read it?" 27 He answered: "'Love
the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor
as yourself.'" 28 "You have answered correctly," Jesus
replied. "Do this and you will live." 29 But he wanted to
justify himself, so he asked Jesus, "And who is my
neighbor?" (NIV)
God's gift of faith (Ephesians 2:8-9), provides us the right
direction and motivation to look for answers to mankind's eternity
question. We find that answer in our Creator, Saviour, and Lord. Any
person burdened by their questions over eternity is ripe to be sent
into God's word to find the only true answers.
Returning to Ecclesiastes, Solomon gives an appeal to eternity:
Ecclesiastes 12:1-8
Remember your Creator [the beginning, pointing to eternity prior]
in the days of your youth, [while you are still young]
before the days of trouble come [before inevitable problems of later
life come]
and the years approach when you will say,
"I find no pleasure in them"- [before you can no longer
take pleasure in things of life]
2 before the sun and the light
and the moon and the stars grow dark, [before you eye sight starts to fail]
and the clouds return after the rain; [and you only have more of the
same, or worse, to look forward to]
3 when the keepers of the house tremble, [hands tremble]
and the strong men stoop, [stooped over in appearance, declining
muscles in back and legs]
when the grinders cease because they are few, [lose your teeth]
and those looking through the windows grow dim; [no sparkle in the eye]
4 when the doors to the street are closed [opportunities decline]
and the sound of grinding fades; [unable to work]
when men rise up at the sound of birds, [can't sleep well]
but all their songs grow faint; [can't hear well]
5 when men are afraid of heights [unsteady, loss of balance]
and of dangers in the streets; [unable to defend one's self]
when the almond tree blossoms [hair turns white]
and the grasshopper drags himself along [bad joints, swollen ankles]
and desire no longer is stirred. [the time for romance is gone]
Then man goes to his eternal home [you go the way of all mankind, you
die and enter the afterlife]
and mourners go about the streets. [people mourn you for a time]
6 Remember him - before the silver cord is severed, [the fragile cord
of life]
or the golden bowl is broken; [the fragile flesh that holds our soul
and spirit]
before the pitcher is shattered at the spring, [another image of the same]
or the wheel broken at the well, [another image of the same, all
pointing to eternity to come]
7 and the dust returns to the ground it came from, [we return to the
dust we were made from]
and the spirit returns to God who gave it. [life returns to God, who
gave it]
8 "Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. [A vapor,
"soap bubbles"]
"Everything is meaningless!" (NIV) [Everything in this life
is temporary just like a soap bubble]
There's only one valid answer to the eternity question. Life is
short, turn to the eternal God while you still have time! |
