by: Topher Wiles
What do
cereal boxes, bank accounts, and toilet paper rolls all have in common? They are all disappointing when you find them
empty! Think back to that fateful moment
you’ve reached into the pantry to quickly nab that scrumptious dessert in a box
for breakfast. Do you remember your
shock when you found the amount of cereal left in the cardboard would only fill
your spoon? Can you remember a time you
filled your bowl of cereal only to find your milk jug with an eighth inch of
liquid in the fridge? Do you remember
how you could have throttled someone at that moment in the morning? Heaven help that dastardly person who
neglected to throw the empty box and jug away before I found them! Oh, and we’ll never forget that moment we
realize we overspent an empty bank account resulting in extra fees! That same emotional disappointment is what my
5 year old Micah felt at a recent Easter Egg Hunt because his dad forgot the
disappointment of emptiness.
As a dutiful
dad attending to my tiny tot at Central Church of Christ’s egg hunt, I worked
diligently at pointing out all the stray eggs in the grass that older kids
missed, or so I thought. After ensuring
the little kids area was cleared, we strayed toward the big kids side and were
surprised to find so many eggs left in the tall grasses in the middle of the
yard. I understand that sometimes our
older kids’ hunting practices take after me in my hunt for my car keys; I can’t
find anything when it’s left in the open in obvious places. Yet I was puzzled at the bountiful amount of
eggs the more mature hunters left laying in the grass. Micah was excited at the “eggstravagant”
booty he pillaged from the older kids, until we began opening eggs.
Many of
Micah’s eggs were empty! I chuckled as I
realized what had happened. Some older
kid was immediately eating the chocolate and then snapping the eggs closed and
dropping them for an unsuspecting hunter!
The realization gave me a giggle but gave my 5 year old a frown. (I fear I’ve given some adult readers a
diabolical prank for this weekend’s egg hunts!)
Emptiness
hurts. Many of us have experienced that
truth the hard way in life. In our daily
lives we often find empty things around us that disappoint us. God knows that empty people will disappoint
us as well when he warns of the following empty things.
- Be cautious with people who don’t do
what they say and disappoint us with their empty words. “Let
no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the
wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” – Ephesians 5:6
- Be wary of those who put on a show of
religious piety, but are unwilling to give in helping others. “Three
times a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place
He chooses … they shall not appear before the Lord empty-handed, every
man shall give as he is able.” – Deuteronomy 16:16-17
- Be mindful of those who pretend to
know the depths of the will of God but disappoint us with their empty-headed
shallowness. “For an empty-headed man will be
wise. . . when a donkey’s colt is born a man. – Job 11:12
Yet there is
one empty item in which we can rejoice, and because of it we don’t have to be
disappointed by emptiness any more. The
empty tomb of Jesus Christ changes our perspective. We rejoice with Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Mary
the mother of James as they reached the tomb with spices and anointing oils
only to find no body inside (Luke 23:55-24:10).
We praise God for the angel who rolled back the stone and said, “He
is not here, for he has risen, as he said.” (Matthew 28:6) We marvel along with Peter as he “rose
and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, saw the linen cloths by
themselves.” (Luke 24:12) Paul
praised the emptiness of the tomb when he said “If Christ’s tomb is not empty,
then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty!” (1 Corinthians
15:14) We exult in the Lord Most
High that finally, we can find peace and joy in something that was empty: the empty tomb of Jesus!
Yes, life
may bring you empty cereal boxes, empty people, or even some empty Easter eggs,
but we can bear it all because God has given us the Spirit of a man who rose
from the grave, leaving an empty tomb! May
you be blessed because of the tomb’s emptiness this Easter weekend!
“You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who
was crucified. He has risen! He is not here! See the place where they laid him!” – Mark 15:6
