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Infinite Abyss


There is a popular phrase among Christians that says each person has a “God-shaped void” in their lives. This is speaking of the natural man, of course. The Bible teaches that we are born with a sin nature and are separated from God as a result. 

 

The phrase is traced back to Blaise Pascal, a French inventor and philosopher of the 1600s. But rather than a God-shaped void (or vacuum as some say), Pascal actually wrote of an infinite abyss. In his posthumous work defending his faith he wrote these words:

 

“What else does this craving, and this helplessness, proclaim but that there was once in man a true happiness, of which all that now remains is the empty print and trace? This he tries in vain to fill with everything around him, seeking in things that are not there the help he cannot find in those that are, though none can help, since this infinite abyss can be filled only with an infinite and immutable object; in other words by God himself.”

 

According to Pascal, we each are born with this infinite abyss in our soul, and there is only one thing—or Person—that can fill it. It would take an infinite object to fill an infinite abyss, and only the God of Heaven can effectively do that. But people try to fill the void with other things: relationships, success, fame, entertainment, power, etc. They may find fleeting moments of happiness in these pursuits, but the abyss in their heart is infinite, not fleeting. 

 

Is there biblical support for Pascal’s claim? I believe so. When Paul was in Athens he perceived that the people were very religious, as they had monuments for every conceivable god; they even had one for an “unknown God.” Then, in Acts 17:27, he told the men of the city that God wanted them to “seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us.”

 

The reason people are trying to find that missing thing in their lives is they are really trying to feel their way toward God. There is something missing and they just can’t quite put their finger on it. The sooner they realize they are longing for a relationship with their Creator, the sooner they can fill the infinite abyss with an infinite object. 

 

Maybe that is where you are. If you are tired of constantly searching for that next temporary moment of happiness, open your heart to Jesus Christ and find infinite satisfaction. 

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