[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"\u002Farticles\u002Fempty-and-full":3,"\u002Farticles\u002Fempty-and-full-surround":69},{"id":4,"title":5,"author":6,"bibleBooks":8,"body":14,"columnName":52,"date":53,"description":20,"extension":54,"image":55,"meta":56,"minRead":57,"navigation":58,"path":59,"postType":60,"publication":61,"publicationUrl":55,"seo":62,"stem":63,"topics":64,"__hash__":68},"blog\u002Farticles\u002Fempty-and-full.md","Empty and Full",{"name":7},"Dave Faust",[9,10,11,12,13],"Philippians","Matthew","Mark","Acts","John",{"type":15,"value":16,"toc":48},"minimark",[17,21,24,27,30,33,36,39,42,45],[18,19,20],"p",{},"I got a new car the other day, but it's not as exciting as it sounds. My new car is the same make and model as the car I previously owned. (I'm an example of brand loyalty, I suppose.)",[18,22,23],{},"Oh, there are a few small differences. My new car sports a snazzy new paint color (a darker shade of gray). The back bumper no longer reveals a nick from the time I loaded an oversized chair into the trunk. The upholstery bears no residual stain from the Coke I spilled on the front seat. The tires show no wear, and thousands of miles are gone from the odometer, but in most ways my new car is exactly like the old one.",[18,25,26],{},"Except for one significant change. For some reason, the manufacturer reversed the little gas gauge in the dashboard. In my old car, the \"E\" for Empty was on the left and the \"F\" for Full was on the right. In my new car, \"E\" and \"F\" are on the opposite sides of the gauge. Every time I glance down at the dashboard, I do a double-take because at first it looks like the car is nearly out of gas even though I recently filled the tank. I need to re-train my eyes because they have been conditioned to see Empty where I now see Full.",[18,28,29],{},"I felt the same way when the highway department changed some signs on the street near my home. Someone came up with the bright idea to remove the stop sign from an intersection where it had stood for years, and install a new stop sign at an intersection where a sign had never been before. Since these changes occurred on the route I normally took to work, I struggled to adapt to the changes. Suddenly I had to stop where I used to go, and go where I used to stop!",[18,31,32],{},"A similar thing happens when you become a Christian. You have to go where you used to stop, and stop where you used to go.",[18,34,35],{},"Things you used to do and habits you never questioned suddenly begin to change. Your conversation changes. Perhaps you didn't give much thought to lying or swearing, but now your conscience and the Holy Spirit's prompting stir you to clean up your speech. Your schedule changes. Maybe you never used to go to church, but now you roll out of bed every Sunday morning, drawn to the feet of your Savior and to the side of your friends. Your budget changes. Before deciding to follow Christ, you tossed a few dollars to charity, but now you find yourself giving more generously than before.",[18,37,38],{},"Christ changes everything, and one of the biggest adjustments he brings is a complete reversal in the way we understand Empty and Full. The Lord's path to glory? \"He emptied himself\" (Philippians 2:7, New American Standard Bible). His prescription for greatness? \"Whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant\" (Matthew 20:26). The way to save your life? Lose it for the sake of Christ and the gospel (Mark 8:35). The way to enjoy maximum blessings? Don't cling too tightly to the ones you have, for \"it is more blessed to give than to receive\" (Acts 20:35).",[18,40,41],{},"We tend to measure love by fullness. Love fills us with feelings of romance and thoughts of our beloved. Love fills us with passion and excitement. But Jesus challenges us to reverse the process and show love through our emptiness.",[18,43,44],{},"\"Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends\" (John 15:13). God's love moves us to empty our pride, put aside our selfish motives, and serve others.",[18,46,47],{},"Then strangely, in our emptiness, the Lord fills us up.",{"title":49,"searchDepth":50,"depth":50,"links":51},"",2,[],"First Look","2006-05-28","md",null,{},4,true,"\u002Farticles\u002Fempty-and-full","column","The Lookout",{"title":5,"description":20},"articles\u002Fempty-and-full",[65,66,67],"Biblical Theology","Church Leadership","Spiritual Formation","RVgF2eQvVOydFVfvErzVloj1SoLYnpoT57e5eJbOrug",[70,75],{"title":71,"path":72,"stem":73,"description":74,"children":-1},"Eldad, Medad, and Me","\u002Farticles\u002Feldad-medad-and-me","articles\u002Feldad-medad-and-me","The Hebrews were hungry, but Moses was fed up.",{"title":76,"path":77,"stem":78,"description":79,"children":-1},"Encourage Your Kids—Don't Exasperate Them","\u002Farticles\u002Fencourage-your-kids-don-t-exasperate-them","articles\u002Fencourage-your-kids-don-t-exasperate-them","Ah, the joys of parenthood—and the challenges! Charles Wadsworth observed, \"By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he is wrong.\""]