Blaise Pascal was a well-known mathematician. He said: “There is a God-shaped hole in the heart of every person.”

He wasn’t talking about a physical hole, of course, but an existential one. We have a deep, inner yearning for God. We will never find true rest until we make that connection with God.

But here’s the problem. Evil loves a vacuum. A vacuum is an empty space, devoid of matter, which sucks things into itself. If we don’t fill our God-shaped hole with God, bad and harmful things will try to take his place!

Several years ago I was having a discussion with some high school students about glorifying God. A young woman asked me why God wants to be glorified all the time. ‘If God values humility, that doesn’t sound very humble. It sounds self-important.’ Good question!

To answer her question, we talked about who God is. God is good (Psalm 118:1), holy (Revelation 4:8), wise (Romans 11:33), loving (1 John 4:8) and true (Psalm 119:160). He is also forgiving (1 John 1:9), merciful (Jonah 4:2), and perfectly just and righteous (Psalm 92:15).

Since he wants what is best for his children, the best thing for us…

Is him!

He wants us to know him, to glorify him, and to serve him, not only because he deserves it, but because it is quite literally the best possible thing for us. Anything else would be encouraging his children toward a lesser life. In the words of Tim Keller: “you harm yourself when you love anything more than God.”*

Evil loves a vacuum. So let’s fill our God-shaped hole with God himself. Anything else is signing up for a less-than life. In 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul writes: “whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”

Notes and extra content:

-“How do I know what my idols and gods are?” Click here. Sermon.
-*Tim Keller, Making Sense of God (New York: Viking, 2016), 91.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.