THE GOD-SIZED HOLE

okay. here's a little story by Donny Cho that he shared with us in a little book...
this story is called "THE GOD-SIZED HOLE"

There once lived a people-a people not-so-different from you and me, in a town not-so-different from yours, in a country, not-so-different from the one you and I live in. There were all sorts of people in this town: there were big people and small people, beautiful people and ugly people, people with big hands and people with small hands, people with long hair and people with short hair, smart people and not-so-smart people, rich people and poor people, loud people and quiet people, and, well, you get the point.

In this town, lived a boy-a boy not-so-different from other people like yourself, except for one thing-this boy had a SUPER-HUGE, GIANT, ENORMOUS, GREAT, BIG HOLE right in the middle of his heart, and it hurt to even look at it (you can only imagine). Sometimes, the boy tried to cover it up. When he dressed, he wore thick clothing to protect this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole in his heart, but that never worked. The clothing would just get swallowed up by this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole (weird). He would try to buy the nicest clothes he could find-"Maybe that would work," he would tell himself. Although the finest of clothing would work for a while, and although other people would praise him for his style and fashion, eventually, just as he suspected, the clothes would only make the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole seem wider.
After all, we're not just talking about a speck, here. We're talking about a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of his heart; no matter what he tried to do to cover it up, it was always there-and it showed. And it hurt-even to look at it.

He decided to study harder-to understand how to get rid of the hole. The boy studied, and studied, and studied, and studied. Eventually, he was accepted into the greatest of colleges, and he become one of the smartest people the world ever knew. But, the more he studied this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of his heart, he realized he would never be able to get to the bottom of it; the hole was too deep and too vast for him to fully understand. Although it felt good to be a smart person, it never helped him to get rid of the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole in his heart.
After all, we're not just talking about some ordinary hole, here. We're talking about a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole-right in the middle of his heart; no matter what he tried to do to figure it out, all the knowledge in the world wasn't enough to solve his problem.

And so, he did what he should've done in the first place. He sought a doctor. "The job of the doctor is to help solve problems like this," the boy though to himself. The thought gave him a lot of hope. And so, the boy went to one of the best doctors in the whole world, in one of the best hospitals in the whole world. The doctor examined this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of his heart. He examined him for hours, and hours, and hours, and hours.But, the doctor was puzzled. "I don't unzuh-stanz it," he said (the doctor was from another country- a really smart country). "You have a big problem, here, but i cannot zolvez it. Ze hole is zo big!" The boy was disappointed. He muttered, "I could've told you that myself. A few days later, the boy received a super-huge, giant, enormous, great, big medical bill.

What was he to do? He spent his days, and his nights, looking for an answer. Some people told him to fill the hole up with gold coins. So, the boy worked feverishly to make lots and lots of money-after all, he was one of the smartest people in the whole (no pun intended) world. But, it didn't work. The coins weighed him down, and also gave him heartburn. And although he could buy nice cars, and big houses, and go anywhere he wanted, those things only distracted him for a little while; every night when he would go to sleep, he would hear his heart beating, and the empty beat would remind him of the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole in his heart.

Some people told him to get married. "Having a wife will help you forget about your little problem," the old men of his town would say. So, the boy made some friends-after all, he had tons of money, and was the smartest, nicest-dressed, healthiest person he knew, and those things always distracted other people from seeing his super-huge, giant, enormous problem. He eventually fell in love-it felt really good to be in love. "Maybe this is it," he exclaimed. "She is the answer!" But, as time went by, the boy grew discouraged. The closer he grew to his girlfriend, he began to see that she also had a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of her heart! He would look at her heart, and poke fun at it, and she would look at his, and ridicule him. Both of them realized that being together didn't make the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big holes in their hearts go away; the holes only grew larger. Oh, the despair! They both broke down and cried.


The boy was helpless. He started to reason with himself. "There is nothing we can do. No clothing can cover us. No intelligence can save us. No doctor can heal us. No amount of money can purchase a solution. No relationship can help us forget. There is nowhere we can hide, and nowhere we can go to fill this super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of our hearts."

Just then, a man approached the boy, who was wallowing in despair. "What's the matter?" "It's no use trying to cover it up-look, I have a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of my heart, and I am helpless to find something that will fill it completely, and I tried everything. It's disgusting, and scary, and empty, and painful. I don't know what to do, so I figured I would just cry for a while (sniff-sniff)."
The man looked at the super-huge-giant, enormous, great big problem, but didn't frown, nor wince, nor turn away in disgust. "There is a name for your condition," he diagnosed. "You mean, you've seen this before?" asked the boy, with curiosity rushing the blood back into his pale white face. "Seen it before? Look around-" The boy turned to survey the town, and then he saw it-everyone-big people and small people, beautiful people and ugly people, people with big hands and people with small hands, people with long hair and people with short hair, smart people and not-so-smart people, rich people and poor people, loud people and quiet people, and well, you get the point-everyone had the same super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole right in the middle of their hearts, and they were doing everything they could to fill it.

They tried to fill their hearts with all sorts of things:
Some people ate, some people dieted.
Some people sang loudly,
while others sat quieted.
Some folks were king, while others were rude.
Some acted rough, while others were smooth.
Some went to church-and did what was right.
Some folks cared less-to their delight.
No matter their manner-they all had one goal,
To hopelessly fill their super-huge, giant,
enormous hole, great, big hole-
right in the middle of their hearts.

The man had a name for the boy's situation. "It's a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole, and it was created by sin. And it can never be filled, because it's a GOD-sized you've been searching all your life to fill it with all sorts, of things, but all those things put together will never be able to fill this hole in your heart. In fact, as big as that hole appears, it's even bigger than that0it's so big that you can't see the end of it. It's a God-sized hole, and only God Himself can fill it."
"Then, I am doomed, because God would never care for a pea-sized boy like me," The boy confessed. But, the man assured, "You are not doomed. In fact, God made a way for people like you-people like me-to be filled." As he began to share his story, the boy noticed that this man didn't have a hole in his heart-his heart was completely, totally, utterly whole (what a difference a "w" makes)! The man told the true story of Jesus, God's own Son, who was born with a perfect heart. Jesus was the only Person ever born who didn't have a hole in his heart (because He was sinless and perfect in every way). But, He came with a purpose. On the cross, Jesus became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) for us. In other words, on the cross, Jesus took the God-sized hole in our hearts (punctured by our sin)...so that He could give us His own heart. And God sent Jesus out of His deep love, even for pea-sized people like us.

The boy, upon hearing these words, softened to the voice of the man. The words gave him hope, and took away his fear. The finest clothes could never give him the covering that a complete heart could. No amount of knowledge was able to accomplish what one word of wisdom from the man was able to do. The best of doctors could not give him the heart transplant he needed. The world's riches couldn't purchase what was offered to him for free. The deepest relationship could never fill the void that is left when one didn't know Jesus. Beyond the size of the hole in his heart, the boy was overwhelming with joy that a God that is even bigger than the God-sized crater left in the boy's heart could still love him so. He just wanted to know Jesus-the perfect heart that was traded in for his sinful, empty one. The boy exclaimed, "I want to know more about Jesus, sir." "I will introduce Him to you; you can meet Him yourself," replied the man. The boy sprung up, and trotted off with the man-and as he walked away, what was once a "God-sized hole" already began to close.

So, the next time you feel empty, or when you mess up real bad, or when you make your parents sad, or when you try to hide away from people because you did something you were ashamed of-or when you feel jealous because people have nicer clothes, or more money than you-or when you feel lonely because you have trouble making friends-don't look to a doctor-after all, it's because your sin has left a "God-sized hole" inside your heart, too. But, God is calling you. Look to someone you love who might be able to tell you more about Jesus-as you come to know Him, you'll come to trust in the super-huge-giant, enormous, great, big thing that Jesus did for you, so that you can be found in Him, as He lives in you.
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This story is something that I look back upon from time to time, I am looking at it right now and wrote it to you also because even though I forget this sometimes, I know that there is always a super-huge-giant, enormous, great big hole that is being mended. And whenever I begin to feel that emptiness or loneliness, it feels as if the hole that is being tended to is being ripped wide open again. I keep straying from God and feeling lonely because I KEEP putting things right in my heart instead of God and as a result, my heart just sucks it up and the emptiness returns. I can never be able to love God if something else is tugging at my heart causing me to take a wrong turn or making me lose sight of Him...

But. However. Yet. On the other hand.

God's love never fails. His love for us has overcome our selfishness. our shallowness. our loneliness.

God.
Redeems.
Everything.

There is no questioning or arguing this and no way to ever change this. He puts our sin as far as the east is to the west and remembers it no more. our everlasting, gracious, merciful, loving, unfailing, and perfect God has saved us from the most deadliest thing of all. ourselves. Although we may fail in EVERY SINGLE aspect of our lives, He redeems us. Although we put other things at the center of our hearts. He redeems it. Although we may not love God, He redeems us because He knows that we are broken and helpless and, though we want to give Him all of ourselves, we are unable to. We are unable to truly love God. BUT. God redeems us through His perfect Son and our greatest treasure of grace and mercy.

This is Richard O and, I am so glad that I can say this even with a broken heart, Jesus fulfills my life

God is good ALL THE TIME!