New Believers Bible - Flipbook - Page 84
h o w y o u c a n k n o w GOD
Purpose, meaning, a reason for living—these are all
things we desire and search for in life. Despite steps
each one of us takes to find purpose and meaning in
life, we still feel empty, unfulfilled. That is because
there is a spiritual emptiness in each of our lives. We
each have a hole in our heart, a spiritual vacuum deep within our soul—a “Godshaped blank.” Possessions won’t fill this hole, nor will success. Relationships
alone cannot satisfy this emptiness, and morality, in and of itself, falls miserably
short of occupying this space. In fact, even religion cannot fill the void in our
heart.
There is only one way to effectively fill that void. This way will not only help us
to have a life that is full and rich on this earth, but—more important—will give us
the absolute hope of spending eternity in the presence of God. Before we can
truly appreciate this good news, though, we need to understand the bad news,
which is a serious problem we all have.
t h e p r o b l e m : s i n The Bible clearly identifies our serious problem as
sin. Sin is not just an act but the actual nature of our being. In other words, we
are not sinners because we sin. Rather, we sin because we are sinners! We are
born with a nature to do wrong. King David, an Old Testament Israelite ruler,
wrote, “For I was born a sinner—yes, from the moment my mother conceived
me” (Psalm 51:5). Because we are born sinners, sinning comes to all of us
