MARCH 2024.
EMPTINESS.
Have you ever experienced emptiness in your life? I’m sure that we have all experienced emptiness of one sort or another, like the disappointment of an empty cup of tea when we thought we had one last sip or an empty plate of food when we had hoped for one last bite. Perhaps you have known the dismay of a petrol tank that emptied before you reached the filling station, or the surprise of a bicycle tire that suddenly emptied of air as you rode.
Closer to the heart, you may have known the loneliness of an empty postbox when you had hoped for a special letter to arrive, or the bitter-sweetness of having an empty nest after years of raising a family. Some of us have also known the anxiety of an empty bank account while the food cupboards are simultaneously empty. And perhaps there is no greater sense of emptiness than the hollow pain of an empty chair at the table because a loved one has passed away. What kinds of emptiness have you known in this life? Although we have all experienced emptiness in our lives, our hearts can be full this Easter because of the empty tomb. The tomb is empty because Christ is Risen, and from His fullness we have received grace upon grace (John 1:16). As Paul Tripp points out, “In this broken world we won’t get paradise now, but the empty tomb guarantees us that a new heaven and a new earth are in our future.” In His eternal presence there is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11). Thanks be to God! If your heart is feeling empty for any reason today, my prayer for you is that it becomes full of joy this Easter, because Christ is Risen and lives forevermore..
One in Christ
Pastor Simon
