Nothingness

While Looking Online For Journal Prompts, Carlie and I ran across the prompt, “Explore the concept of nothingness.” Not knowing where to start, I looked up the definition of nothingness.

Nothingness: nonexistence. Still finding myself with writers block, I decided to go further in the dictionary — nonexistence: to not exist. What really is it to exist? To exist: to be a part of what is real. One is reminded of all these movies now: Who knows what’s real? We could all just be in a computer-made dream world. Imaginary: existing only in the imagination. Finally, what is imagination? Imagination: the ability to make images creatively in the mind.

Therefore, we see that nothingness is just an illusion, an image we make. The concept of having nothing is all smoke and mirrors made by the great magician himself — man. Man is always working toward more, because he believes he has nothing. He acts as if the wrong move on the chessboard could lose his king, the one thing that keeps him playing the game.

But man is wrong. He’s looking too closely. If he would step back, he may see that there is more to this game. “God is faithful, he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it” (I Cor. 10:13).

God will show us that there is a way to continue. He will show us that there is another way and we’re not in ‘check.’ Man always worries about playing his cards right, but if he would open his eyes he would see that there will always be another hand to play. We know that we will be able to play another hand because of “God’s grace that he lavished on us” (Eph. 1:7-8). This grace allows us to continue to grow in His word, not letting our sins stop us in our tracks. His grace allows us to continue our walk, to do better. Yet we must not “continue on sinning that grace may abound” (Rom. 6:1). We must learn from what we do. True insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.

We should not live in an illusion of nothingness, but in the fullness of God. God is everywhere not providing a place for nothingness to live. We have all we need; we just have to see it. We must let the Lord into our lives, let His glory fill us. For we “are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in [you]” (I Cor. 3:16 RSV). We should keep our hearts open so that God may work with us. We must stay like clay so that He may mold and help us. Therefore we must “offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God” (Rom. 12:1), so He may work in us. We must remember: “all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord” (Num. 14:21).

This day is coming soon, so we should rejoice in having this knowledge of fullness, and grace that is given to us. We should not keep it like a hidden treasure, but as a lamp on a stand. Let us show everyone the fullness we have through our action and speech. Our conversations should always be “full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that [we] may know how to answer everyone” (James 1:19). We should let our light shine in this world’s illusion of nothingness.