Augustine, famous theologian and North African bishop (354-430), said “Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.” Last night’s family service looked at this theme, talking about the ‘God-shaped hole’ that is in all of us which we often seek to fill with all manner of things, but which can only actually be filled by God Himself.
The Plumb song ‘God-shaped hole’ says of this hole ‘it’s a void only He can fill’ and Stephen spoke from John 7:37-38 last night. Here, Jesus talks about the thirst within each one of us which only He can slake. The NIV says ‘whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him’ – the word here being koilia in Greek and translated in other versions as ‘belly’ or ‘womb’, meaning an empty place which needs filling. We often think of our lives as a jigsaw puzzle and can feel as though the missing piece does not fit:
God is that missing piece which makes our lives complete: He is the perfect fit who does not have to be forced into position. He is able to bring new life to us, to refresh us and to satisfy our deepest longings, but He waits for us to invite Him in.
As is usual with family services, we also had a quiz on various topics connected with the heart. Questions included science facts about the heart (how many chambers the heart has, where the ventricles are etc.), songs about the heart (who sang ‘Heart of Glass’, for example – Blondie) and famous Valentines (did you know, for example, that St Valentine is not only the patron saint of lovers but is the saint of beekeepers?) The women won both quizzes against the men, proving (according to Stephen!) that when it comes to matters of the heart, women are ahead of men…!!