Nothing
Someone asked me what I was working on. I am working
on nothing. Usually I am working on “something,” but these days I have
been working on “nothing.” Actually, I am at my best when I am working
on “nothing.” Most of us spend our life either working on “something,” or
trying to “be something.” The real greatness is found when we pay attention
to “nothing.” I want to talk about nothing. If you are reading this, I
hope you have a couple of minutes to spend thinking about nothing.
Every freshman must take English 101. Every Christian
must take God 101. In between the two ones there is something. For
the mathematician, zero is not “nothing,” zero is something. I am not
talking about being a “zero.” God does not want us to be a zero, but He
does want us to discover the spiritual secret of “nothing.”
God 101 has three important themes.
1. Nothing
before, 2. Nothing between, 3. Nothing without. This is the first lesson.
Nothing before. We are to make
sure that we put nothing before God, nothing. “I am the Lord thy God, thou
shall have no other gods before me.” Nothing. Not job, not family, not
country, not self, nothing. God is to be number One. That is the first
lesson in God 101. All kinds of heartache and woe results in removing God
from His place, first place. Our whole moral, mental, and material universe
is thrown out of whack when God is not in His place in our lives. This law
and principle of life seems simple enough, but it above all things is the
cause of all the trouble in the world. I will say it again, If God is not
in His place, nothing is in place.
Nothing between. What is between
the two 1’s in 101? The answer is “something.” It is our greatest mission
to make sure that there is nothing between us and God. The Bible says
“There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ
Jesus.” The only thing between us and God is God (Jesus). There are a
million other things that will try to “come between” us and God. Sin is
what we call it. No matter what it looks like, if it comes between us and
God, it is sin.
Nothing without. Jesus came
to die on the cross in order to take away our sin and bring us to God.
This is what I refer to as being “won and one,” but to this “won and one”
there is a
“too.” There is “something else,” or should I say a “ nothing else?” Jesus
said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” What does that mean? It means that
whatever we do on our own, by ourselves, or for ourselves, does not count.
That’s a zero. “Nothing” is something else. It is only when we have
emptied our self of self that we have made room for Him and for the fullness
of God. It is the empty cup that Christ will fill. Humility tips the cup
as it bows before God, emptying its contents, making room for Him, His
fullness, and all that is. Now, that’s something!
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