"Brief Devotions For Busy Lives" by Rev. Dr. Mary Johnson: Colossians 2:8-10

 July 6

"Don’t let anyone capture you with empty philosophies and high-sounding nonsense that come from human thinking and from the spiritual powers of this world, rather than from Christ.  For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ, who is the head over every ruler and authority." -Paul in Colossians 2:8-10 (NLT) 

 A great philosopher once said, "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."(Blaise Pascal in Pensées)  Paul also asserts this truth in today's scripture when he says, "In Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body". He also warns the Colossians against any philosophy of life based solely on humanism. Paul himself was a gifted philosopher, so he is not condemning philosophy but teachings that credit people, not Christ, with the answer to life's problems. That approach can become a false religion. There are certainly many approaches to life's problems that disregard God. Yet if we have Christ, we have everything needed to fill our emptiness up with the completeness we can only find in Christ's presence in us. 

 Yet if we look around and within, we can recognize the depth of Paul's and Pascal's profound truth. When feeling empty, we can become like vacuum cleaners sucking up very bad things trying to fill our void. We are all searching for something to fill us up whether bad or good including alcohol, food, drugs, workaholism, etc. Few are content within. A strange inner vacuum gives us a sense of emptiness. Yet Christ can fill that vacuum! Since Jesus is fully divine, we find personal completeness in him. Paul says in today's' text that "You also are complete through your union with Christ."

 When we know Jesus, we don't need to seek God by means of other religions, cults, bad habits, or unbiblical philosophies as the Colossians were doing. Christ alone holds the answers to the true meaning of our life because he is life. Christ is a unique source of knowledge and power for our lives. No person needs anything in addition to what Christ has provided to be saved. Some days we may not feel like it, but in Jesus our vacuum has been filled with God's loving presence. If the full power and presence of God has taken up residence in your soul and heart, you will become a new person satisfied and filled up with God's love. What you can do with Christ filling your heart with divine power will amaze you!

Prayer:  Jesus, Thank you for filling my emptiness. Amen.

Meditation For The Day: Only God can fill the holes in our souls. 

Brief Devotions For Busy Lives: Daily Spring Renewal Paperback – February 21, 2017, by Rev. Dr. Mary Johnson (Author)