Recently, I tried to take a sip of water and realized my water bottle was empty. Empty is usually not good. It may not be terrible, but emptiness can be a unhappy thing in many respects. From the inconvenient emptiness of running out of something, to the emotional emptiness of being left all alone, to the terror of finding an unexpectedly empty medicine bottle in the presence of a young child, emptiness is not a welcomed thing. We refer to someone who is pessimistic as someone who looks at the cup half-empty, and no one ever wants to have an empty gas tank in his or her car.
It seems like the Lord created the world to be full. “In the Beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, “Let there be light…” He went on to fill this world with so much vibrant life! The earth was not created to be empty.
The Lord many of us worship is the God of Fullness. In 1 Kings 17, we read about a widow who had an empty larder, and how the Lord made it continuously full so that she and her son could live. Several women in the Bible – Sarai (Genesis 11:30), Rebekkah (Genesis 25:21), Rachel (Genesis 29:31), and Elizabeth (Luke 1:7), to name a few – were empty (barren, childless) and were later filled with life by the Lord Our Provider. Jesus had compassion on people who were empty spiritually and physically in a deserted place, so he fed them with teaching and miraculous bread (Mark 6:32-43). Jesus even prepares empty places which he expects us to fill in heaven (John 14:3)! Jesus ultimately declares that he came intentionally so that our lives might be full (John 10:10)!
As I considered it, I was amused when I realized that all of this fullness is dependent on something empty. We recently celebrated the Day of the Empty Tomb – Easter! Were it not for that emptiness, we who follow him would be of all people most empty (1 Corinthians 15:14). God’s great love could never be fulfilled to us without it. The empty tomb makes all the difference. We can be full of hope, full of anticipation, full of enthusiasm because of emptiness.
It doesn’t end there. Jesus emptied the grave (and later left this world) so that we could all partake of an amazing fullness – his Holy Spirit! He said it best when he said, “It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
Paul talks about the fullness of the Spirit in his letter to the Ephesians, referring to how people act when they are so filled. “Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,” (Ephesians 5:18-19). When someone is humming or whistling a tune, my first thought is, “They must be happy.” While that’s not always true, it is an indicator of something good going on inside of them. The fullness just spills over!
If you, however, feel empty, let me encourage you to seek the One who can offer you a fullness that can never be taken away. Jesus left the grave empty so you can be filled with hope, forgiveness, joy, and yes, maybe even some music!
Oh, and the next time you see something empty, remember how another emptiness grants you fullness beyond measure, and rejoice!