God-Sized Hole: Holy Thursday, April 13
Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water
I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
John 4:13 (NIV)
Have you heard the term “God-sized hole”? Several people talk about it, but I believe the first person to come up with the idea of this unquenchable thirst, our “God-sized hole,” was St. Augustine. As Christians, we believe that God put us on this earth yearning for what only He can supply.
In Paul David Tripp’s book, Awe, he writes: “Every awesome thing in creation is designed to point you to the One who alone is worthy of capturing and controlling the awe of your searching and hungry heart. If the awesome things in creation become your god, the God who created those things will not own your awe. Nothing in the entire physical, created world can give rest, peace, identity, meaning, purpose, or lasting contentment to your awe-craving heart.”
As a whole, Native Americans try to fill their “God-sized hole” with poisonous things and spend their lives seeking to quench a never-ending thirst. Many people are aware that alcoholism and drug abuse have reached epidemic proportions in Native communities, but do we ever hear that materialism has reached epidemic proportions in the United States?
We all have an “awe” problem.
As followers of Christ, we have the true, everlasting water that will quench our thirst and fill our emptiness, but we need to share that truth with our Native brothers and sisters. The beautiful thing is, even as believers, we often forget and search for “awe” elsewhere. We are all in the same boat, daily needing to seek our Savior, Jesus Christ.
Father, thank you for sending your Son so that our thirst can be forever quenched. Jesus, thank you for giving your body and blood that we may have a relationship with you. Please help us to identify the things in our own lives that we are putting above you, and help us to share your love with others who are in need of your rest, peace, identity, meaning, purpose, and lasting contentment to their awe-craving heart. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Bob Prue (Rosebud Sioux)
Lawrence, Kansas