Chapter 1 – The Hole in Your Heart
That huge hole in your heart that has always been there is no accident. You were designed that way to be inhabited by the Holy Spirit. He is quite literally the only thing that can ever truly fill you up. Our souls (hearts) are receiving bodies for Him. Much like men and women were designed to fit together physically, so are we with the Holy Spirit spiritually. God goes into that much deeper in the Bible with a wedding that occurs at the end times when Christ returns, but we will get into that much later…
That hole is there no matter what you do. You can fill it momentarily with fleeting happiness from relationships, kids, jobs, house etc. But those things will also always frustrate you eventually. Because they are not perfect and news flash, neither are you!
You can never find lasting, fulfilling joy, forever and ever through another person or anything else in this world. And no matter how young or old or how rich or poor, you know this to be true in your heart and soul. Because you have experienced heartbreak and disappointment from everything in your life at some point. Usually from the same things that brought you happiness at one time. This life is constant change and that is very unsettling. Our souls were not made for that…
If we continually search for that joy in other things besides God (what we were made and designed for), that is what causes addiction in my opinion. It is a form of insanity that we all do… running from thing to thing to try and make ourselves feel complete.
Most people think of addiction as drug problems, alcohol, food, sex… the “bad” stuff. But I think it is literally anything that we seek to put in that hole… anything that we put above God which can include your kids, spouse, family, house, job, money, whatever! And friends, anything you put above God is an idol and God views it as sin.
I know that sounds harsh, but it is true…
Matthew 10:37-39 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
Jesus also said in:
Matthew 22:37-40 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Ponder that deeply for a moment… Let go of how this world has taught you to view sin and judge others. How it has taught you to put yourself above everything.
On those two commandments about love hang some of the law? No, ALL of it. Did it say anything about except murder, homosexuality, adulterers, thieves? No, ALL of it. That means if you are not doing those two things you are just as bad as those other guys in God’s eyes.
Sin is sin to God.
I don’t think he has varying degrees like we do. Judging homosexuals when committing adultery for instance. Our churches have their own brand of judgement which has driven many people away from the church. The church should be the ultimate expression of Commandment number two, love thy neighbor as thyself! But they often create an atmosphere, where if you are not living the “Christian” life, you are shunned. I put to you, that is a worse sin than any of them. That is putting yourself to be God.
Matthew 7:1-5 Judge not, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you. And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Knowing that we all suffer from the same sickness… that hole in our heart. Hopefully, you can begin to see that we are all just trying to fill it up. To heal ourselves. Each with different idols and none is better or worse than the other. That goes back to number two again… Love your neighbor as yourself because he is just as sick as you are. Brokenhearted. THAT is the type of Godly compassion that He wants us to have for each other. AND, to encourage each other to turn back to our God as number one in our lives.
I love you all and God has asked me to write this to you… in His perfect love.