Empty Fullness

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it. What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? (Matthew 16:24-26 NIV)

God has revealed Himself to be a God of self-giving. He gave existence itself to humanity when He created us in His image and breathed the breath of life into us. He gave Himself in covenant to Abraham to make a people through whom to reveal Himself to the world He created that had fallen so far into sin and darkness that we no longer recognized Him. He gave Himself in covenant with Israel and with whomever would keep His commandments. He gave freedom to His people when He brought them out of slavery in Egypt. And in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice, He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, as atonement for Sin.

Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. (John 15:13 NIV)

Made in the image of this self-giving God, there is a curious and beautiful fact that seems counter intuitive to us in our fallen, broken hearts. The way to a full life is emptying ourselves for God and others.

“Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me."

The cross is an instrument of execution. Something in the core of our fallen, sinful being needs to be put to death in order to truly live. That something is the selfishness of self. Life expands and takes on meaning and purpose when we reorient our lives away from me, me, me and choose to follow our self-giving Savior in living for God and others. We empty ourselves and find fullness of life.

It makes sense, when you think about it. The Creator of all life is both Holy and Love, according to scripture. A Holy God is a God who seeks righteousness - always doing the right thing, not the selfish thing. And a God who is Love cares for others, not because we are worthy of His love, but because Love is who He is. The very fulfillment of His Being exists in the loving relationship of His triune existence as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. So creatures made in His image will find the fullness and joy of our existence by loving Him and loving others with the same Holy Love.

This dynamic also makes sense practically. Loving people have people in their lives who love them. The more you love, the more others love you back. We love, because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). And we find love most effectively by sowing love into the world. The more we love, the more we are loved. We find fullness by emptying ourselves of ourselves and living for others.

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.

This is profoundly and fundamentally lived out in family. Sharing life for 54 years with my high school sweetheart has only deepened my life and love. Becoming a dad brought a deeper love into my life than any I had received before. As a father I began to understand the deep love my Heavenly Father has for me. Friendships have enriched my life beyond measure.

Of course, love with other fallen, broken people like me opens my life to all kinds of disappointments and wounds and betrayals as well. Loving us to the point of redeeming us cost God the life of His Son on a cross. But forgiving, perhaps the deepest act of love, brings healing and redemption in our relationship with God and in our relationships with others.

In this "look out for number one" and "I did it my way" kind of world, Jesus reminds us of the futility of living only for ourselves.

What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? 

What, indeed? The answer is anything we gain by selling out to a life focused only on ourselves is a poor trade for finding and gaining the fulfillment of our true selves. The downside of all this is that I am broken and flawed, and my love for myself runs deep. I fail to live up to my desire to live for God and others. We all do. And God's remedy? To fill us with His Holy Spirit and His own agape (unconditional, self-giving) love. Immersed in His love, we can love others with a love that is deeper and more faithful than our own love. Jesus can and does love others through us as we empty ourselves of self and live in His love.

When we are feeling sad and unfulfilled and purposeless, God's way out is to behold how much we are loved by Him and become His love in flesh and blood for others. Do something loving for someone else without thought for anything they can give in return, and you yourself will be filled with fulfillment and purpose and joy.

All for Jesus!