The fourth season episode of this revered TV sitcom began, as it so often did, in a coffee shop where George Costanza (played by the excellent Jason Alexander) is moaning to Jerry about one of his fixations: relationships.
“Oh, what’s the point? When I like them, they don’t like me, when they like me, I don’t like them. Why can’t I act with the ones I like the same way I do with the ones I don’t like?”
A few minutes later, George goes philosophical. That’s when my ‘spidey-sense’ started tingling.
George: I dunno, Jerry something’s missing. There’s a void, Jerry, there’s a void…There’s gotta be more to life than this. What gives you pleasure?
Jerry: Listening to you. I listen to this for fifteen minutes and I’m on top of the world. Your misery is my pleasure.
After laughing at Jerry’s droll response, I started to see the bigger picture. The void in George’s life is the void in almost everyone’s life. George tried filling that void with relationships and sex and continuously failed.
For years, I tried filling that void with relationships, with work, with hobbies (photography), with music and with culture (I prize the part of my DNA that comes from Ireland). The void remained.
The one thing I did NOT try to fill it with was the one thing our culture insists is a silly, even harmful waste of time: spirituality.
In fact, I was mad at God. For what doesn’t matter. We can all find ways to justify the things that set off sparks in our soul. My anger lasted until sitting on an Alberta ski lift with a friend, who suggested we pray about that anger right then and there. So he did.
Then I did. I don’t recall the exact words, but they were something along the lines of “let’s see if we can find a way to get along.” Later, my buddy asked me how I felt and with a tone of utter astonishment, I answered “I feel better”.
And I did. I opened the door to a relationship with my creator and He immediately entered, as if He’d been waiting years for the opportunity. Then He introduced me to Jesus of Nazareth, who many people believe is His Son, and showed me how following Jesus can transform this life and give me a place with Him in Heaven after this life.
I understood that this was a gift being offered to me with NO strings attached. So I said yes. I jumped in and watched in amazement as God directed me to a woman who’s also a Jesus follower and directed me to a job that tells other people about this life-changing gift.
My life is certainly not perfect — anyone who tells you that accepting the gift of Jesus will make everything hunky-dory is lying — but I’m on a much more fulfilling path.
That same gift is offered to YOU. Are you interested? Yes or no, post your thoughts below and let’s have a conversation. 🙂
Frank's Cottage 