Has anyone ever disappointed you?
Ever had anyone betray you, talk behind your back?
Has anybody ever broken a promise they made to you?
Most likely you have, because to be human means having issues with people. I have done it to others; others have done it to me…and it hurts.
We humans are kind of like buckets with holes in them. We fail, we say things we shouldn’t, we withhold words which should be said, we envy, get jealous – you know all the stuff. No matter how many compliments we may get, there will never be enough to fill our bucket, because they slip out the holes. We know our weakness, our guilt, our shame, and no other person can give us enough love and attention to keep our bucket full.
It’s normal for us to try and find another human who can keep our bucket full, but no one on this planet is capable of doing so. Many of us work hard to make ourselves look like we are full buckets, but inside we know how we constantly need the affirmation of others to keep believing that we are worthwhile.
Sometimes we marry someone who seems to be a bucket without holes and hope they can fill our always emptying bucket. But inevitably their holes show up and they will not be able to fill our bucket which keeps being emptied.
There are some people I have known in the past who were so beautiful, put together – it seemed as if they had no holes in their bucket. But then I got to know them – and they are fallible, full of holes just like everyone else. They never tried to cover their holes, I just didn’t know them well enough to see them.
Some people’s holes are obvious to the world, others are hidden to most but are certainly revealed some time or other.
For years I have tried to find someone without holes in their bucket, someone whom I could emulate, but there is no human on earth fitting that description. There are no exceptions.
I have always loved to hear positive comments about myself, and if I heard a criticism I would be hurt, wondering how they could have misinterpreted my actions or words. But just like everyone else, my bucket is full of holes.
I have found there is only one person whose bucket is always full and overflowing – and that is my friend, Jesus. He is trustworthy and true, loving me when I have failed, loving me when I have done well. Yes, Jesus does convict me when I have acted in pride, when I have been selfish with my time, but I know there is no condemnation. I simply need to confess what I have done, accept His always available forgiveness, and move on.
There is no greater comfort on earth than that of being always in conversation with my Savior. As CS Lewis said decades ago,
God made us, invented us as a man invents an engine. A car is made to run on petrol, and it would not run properly on anything else. Now God designed the human machine to run on Himself.
Because He has no holes in His bucket, He is the only Person we can turn to for strength, wisdom, forgiveness and never-ending love. He will never force Himself on us, He is far too great of a gentleman for that. But He is always waiting, watching and ready to come into our lives – simply for the asking.
So we have a choice: we can either try to continue living in our own strength, or surrender to Jesus and let Him become our strength, wisdom and continual source of a never-ending bucket of love who will never leave nor forsake you.
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