Filling in the hole

There was this guy who led a pretty normal life. He was successful in his career, he was very handsome, never had a difficult time finding a date, and he always had plenty of money. One morning his alarm clock went off, but he just couldn't seem to find the motivation to get out of bed. Again, pretty normal behavior. The next morning the same thing. He found himself getting up later and later. Each day he found it more and more difficult to get himself out the door. He thought it had to do with the incredibly long hours he had been putting in at work. It also could have been his late nights out at the clubs that had him dragging. He couldn't quite put his finger on it.

Finally, one morning as he was again struggling to get going, he noticed that there was a hole in his chest. A deep and depressing hole. He looked at the hole and it seemed as though he could see his life slowly floating out of the hole. He couldn't quite explain the hole, but he thought perhaps focusing his mind on a new project at work would help him to forget about the hole. If the project went well, the bonus money would definitely get his mind off of the hole.

The project came and went, he did great, made tons of money, 30% of his enormous salary. Life couldn't be better. A few weeks later, he found himself again struggling to get moving one morning. Again he noticed the hole. This time it seemed as though more of his life was floating out. Perhaps he needed to reward himself for the hard work he had put in over the past month. A new sports car would definitely do the trick. He took the day off and spent it searching for the perfect car. Maybe he needed to upscale his image. This time it had to be a Mercedes.

The car was great and he looked great in it. It did wonders for his image. People at other firms were beginning to notice him. He was surely on his way up. But again, the newness of the car wore off and it seemed as though several people in his building had the same car. The hole was becoming more and more obvious to him. He was troubled by how empty he felt as he saw his life floating out of the hole. The success at his job, the money, the women, the new car, none of it was enough to keep his mind off of the hole. He had to find something to fill the hole.

He sat at his computer and began searching for stores that carried things to fill holes. He found a store that was just around the corner from him. Hole Fillers'r'us. He was off in a flash. As he entered the store he was immediately greeted by a sales clerk. Sir, we have anything and everything you could dream of to fill your hole. You just have to find the right fit to plug it up. First, I suggest you try to the Soul for Sale room. He led the man into a room full of various shaped blocks. Some blocks were shaped like dollar signs, some shaped like cars, some like houses, some like gold bars. He tried every one of them, but none of them matched his hole.

The clerk then suggested he try the Soul for Hire room. The blocks in the room could not be purchased. You had to work in the room to earn your block. The more projects you completed the bigger the block you could earn. The man spent hours working in the room, but even the biggest block didn't fit his hole. The clerk was beginning to see that the man was not having any luck. Perhaps you should just give up trying to fill your hole. Just go out and make your self as happy as you can, spend as much as you can earn and do whatever feels right. When you die you will have led your life to the fullest. The man halfway believed that might work and headed back to his home. The hole seemed to be getting bigger and deeper and darker. He was starting to panic a bit. What could he do? His life was pointless if he had to go from day to day with this huge hole in his heart.

The man trudged his way home back to his "fabulous" penthouse. As he entered his building, he was greeted by the doorman. The doorman, despite his menial job and limited resources, actually seemed to be pretty content. The man asked the doorman, how do you stand out here from day to day, in the frigid cold in the winters or the miserable heat in the summers, opening doors for people who don't even care to know your name and be so content.

The doorman was obviously a little hurt by his comments, but he quickly leaned over to the man and asked, Do you wake up every morning with a deep dark hole in your chest? A hole that seems so endless and hopeless and lonely. A hole that is cold and empty beyond belief.

The man seemed surprised. Yes, I do. Does that happen to you too?

No, I have the Lord in my heart. I know that despite all of my bad habits or failures in life and disappointments, God loves me. He loves me so much that he gave me this block to fill my hole. The doorman pulled a block shaped like a cross out of his pocket. Yeah, he gave me a block just like this one. This block is a promise to me that if I believe in the Lord and believe that he sent his son, Jesus, to earth to die on the cross for my sins, that I will have everlasting life. This job is not great, but I'm focusing my time on earth on living my life like Jesus did. Loving my neighbors, even the snooty ones who don't tip me in the middle of February. Christ died for each and every one of us and if we believe that and accept him as our savior we live with him eternally in heaven. Would you like to try this block and see if it fills your hole?

Acts 2:25-28 (NLT) King David said this about Him: 'I know the Lord is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me. No wonder my heart is filled with joy, and my mouth shouts his praises! My body rests in hope. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your Holy One to rot in the grave. You have shown me the way of life, and you will give me wonderful joy in your presence.'