god-shaped hole

Blaise Pascal was a French physicist, mathematician, and philosopher and he made the comment that, "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." Pascal's point was that the sensual (pleasures of the senses - not just pleasures related to the sexual) and materialism ultimately lead to degradation and despair.

I think that Pascal studied the writings of Solomon who set out to experience all of the pleasures that a human could experience and concluded "I have seen all the works (activities) that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation."

Vanity means useless or worthless or without benefit or value. Vexation means to cause irritation and unease. A life lived with self as the focus is empty and filled with an unease and some degree of constant irritation. A life focused on things eternal begins to fill that void in every person's heart. 

What are the eternal things in this world. I believe that God designed things so that all that is material will lose energy (entropy) and begin to degrade. The things that are eternal are the immaterial or spiritual. These would be all activities that are done in faith, hope and love. The Bible says that God is Love so clearly the love of God is the foundation that all is built on.

Jesus said that all that is required for us to spend our eternity with God is to love the Lord, thy God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Love of God fills that void in your heart and love of others is the best way to bring love to your life. Love is something easy to initiate and it will flow back to your life eternally.

That eternal choice is as easy as a sincere and humble prayer of love like this: "Father I love you and want to be eternally in Your peace and presence. I am a sinner and I know I need Jesus as my Savior. Please save me and use my life in Your power and love. Amen." That God-shaped vacuum in your life is now being filled.