Remember to Fill Up

One of the advantages of the life of a courier (that’s what I did before I retired) was going to unexpected places.  One day I found myself in Wicklow in the Republic of Ireland, with time to spare before catching the ferry to come home.  In a charity shop, I found an unused pair of stout walking shoes priced at only €6.  The bonus, when I took them to the cashier, was that they had a sale on that day and I got them for even less!  I found that they were a little on the big side, but I fitted them with insoles and heel-grips; I use a second pair of socks and there'll be years of wear in them.

The presence of a gap where there shouldn’t be one is surprisingly common.  I’m sure at least some of you will know about the adverse effects of an air-lock in a fuel line.  Many more will have experienced the chilling consequences of a radiator that needs bleeding to remove air in the wrong place.  As if by a miracle, the water gushes in to fill the space and warmth is restored. 

The common factor is a need to fill space with what ought to be there.  It’s not too late to think of spring cleaning.  If you’ve spent a while going through your home, you may agree that it’s definitely a two-stage job.  First comes the identification of what’s not wanted, and clearing out the rubbish.  Do you then declare the job finished at the end of stage one, i.e. with empty drawers, or a spare alcove somewhere?  I’m inclined almost to guarantee that someone will find something that ‘will fit that space nicely’.  If you don’t want that alcove to provide a parking place for a pile of old newspapers – or worse – you have to move quickly on to stage two: fill the space with something worthwhile.  My advice is to invest in a large pot plant and a tall stool to place it on!

You may ask, "What have all these examples to do with our faith?"   Of course, the same logic also applies to spiritual things.  Look at Matthew 12:43-45, where Jesus speaks of removing an unclean spirit.  In modern parlance that might be an unhealthy or sinful habit. The cleaning operation leaves us with an empty space, or our life with spare time; how should we fill it?  If we don’t take on some good work, a new occupation or hobby, how easy would it be to go back to the old habit that we thought had been ‘cleaned out’?

Eight or nine times in the New Testament (according to your translation, of course), St. Luke uses the expression ‘filled with the Holy Spirit’.  See if you can find them all; here are some clues.  Three of them are part of what we consider to be the Christmas story.  Of the rest, one refers to Peter and two to Paul; arguably the remaining others are the most significant, since they refer, in one way or another to all believers. 

Is there a space in your life that ought to be properly filled?

The Door to Salvation

I don’t know about you, but most men have keys in their pockets.  Maybe just one, sometimes a whole bunch.  This isn’t a sexist thing, either.  What woman doesn’t carry keys of one sort or another in her handbag?  Keys come in all sorts and sizes, for cupboards and cash tins, cars and doors ... even flat ones like a credit card for hotel rooms!

I have a phobia about locking myself out of my flat.  Fortunately, there’s a shelf just inside the door, where I keep all my keys.  Whenever I go out, it’s difficult to do so without looking at that shelf, and it’s a reminder to pick up a key before passing through the door.  Fortunately the flat door is not the ‘slam’ kind; it actually needs a key to turn in the lock to fasten it, so there are a few extra moments of safety before I reach the outside door, in which I can check that I’ve got the key.  So far I’ve never got as far as the street without.

I’ve recently been pushing leaflets through letterboxes, so they’ve suddenly found a raised profile for me, but doors – and the keys that unlock them – are generally something we take for granted in the western world.  They are so much a part of life that, while our security depends upon them, they don’t come over as having their own identity, style and beauty.

In our home group this week, we took a look ‘over our shoulder’ at Easter and its significance.  John, a man of comparatively few words, but of deep thought, picked up on the theme of salvation (we had just read John 3:36, noting that the verb for possession of eternal life was in the present, not in the future), and asked, “Is it really that simple?”  I looked up in some surprise at this man, whose quiet faith I had long admired.  He went on, “I know that we can’t earn our salvation, but I still marvel that all we have to do is believe ... and we have it!”

John had been thinking about Paul’s letter to the Romans, where he tells us, “a person is justified by faith, apart from the works of the law.” (Romans 3:28).  The fact that God saves us by faith alone eliminates any thought of pride in what we have achieved; it gives all the credit to Him and not to us and admits that, whatever our strengths and qualities, we are unable to live up to the law’s demands by our own means.

Twice in his earthly ministry, Jesus gave illustrations of this.  He visited the home of Jairus, a synagogue leader whose daughter was dying.  People came out saying that the girl had died, and Jesus told them, “Don’t be afraid: just believe.”  Minutes later, the girl stood up and walked about (Mark 5:36-42).  On the way, Jesus had been delayed by a woman who, seeing the crowds around Him, and perhaps with some embarrassment, touched his clothes instead of openly asking for help.  Immediately, she was healed of an intimate problem that had troubled her for years.  He had felt power go from Him, confronted her, and told her that her faith had healed her.

A heavy door can bar the way into the house and no matter how hard we throw our weight against it, it won’t budge.  But use just two fingers to turn a small key in the lock and ... bingo!  The door is open.  Call it faith, call it belief, it’s the key to eternal life.  All we have to do is to trust God and his promises.

As my friend John said, “it is that simple.”