Do You Have "The Blahs"?

A lady named Marge once voiced her complaint in a personal advice column. She said, “I’m 44, husband same age (swell guy). We get along OK...no drinking, no gambling, no skirt chasing. He has a good job and our home is paid for.  Our children are healthy and normal. They do well in school and the three older ones have never caused us any trouble. So why am I writing? Because my life is blah. Something is missing. It’s like stew without salt. I feel a certain emptiness. What is it?”

I suspect that the number of people who could identify with “Marge” are numerous. They have worked hard to obtain the good life only to find that it is flat and tasteless, and happiness continues to elude them. Let me give you an important message from the Apostle Paul: “We have this treasure in jars of clay to show that the all-surpassing power is from God and not from us” (2 Corinthians 4:7).  “Treasure in jars of clay”.  What a powerful image. Paul is not describing a fantasy or a special case, nor is he indulging in wishful thinking. He states emphatically that whoever accepts Jesus Christ and takes God seriously is the possessor of enormous treasure. But the context of that promise has to do with taking risks. It is only when we spend ourselves, take on difficult tasks and place ourselves in jeopardy for His sake that we begin to discover the ample resources He has already placed in our hands. I know many “Marges” who sit in church services every week listening to the promises of God but who never make any serious attempt to prove Him right or wrong. Their lives are flat and tasteless too.

The solution is simple. Those clay jars full of treasure weren’t meant to gather dust but to be invested. Put your life to work. Take on a task you’ve never done before. Do something risky for Jesus Christ. Jesus himself pointed the way to the abundant life when He said, “I have not come to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give my life a ransom for many.”  Follow that example and you’ll never experience emptiness again.