There is a well-known quote that many people attribute to the great French mathematician, scientist, and philosopher, Blaise Pascal, who lived during the 1600’s that goes as follows: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of each man which cannot be satisfied by any created thing but only by God the Creator, made known through Jesus Christ.” The problem is that based on my research, Pascal, never said these words.
Pascal, however did say something similar: “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.”1
How this similar quote got modified no one really knows but whether it is a modification of Pascal’s original quote or not, the idea that all of us possess a God-shaped vacuum in our hearts that only Jesus Christ can fill, is a truth that every Christian can attest to. Billy Graham echoes this thought well: “We all have a hunger in our hearts for God — an empty place in our souls that only He can fill.”2 And even the late great Baptist pastor, A. C. Dixon, understood that man-made philosophies are useless in supplying the needs of the soul, when he said: “Men have presented their plans and philosophies for the remedying of earth’s ills, but Jesus stands alone in presenting not a system, but His own personality as capable of supplying the needs of the soul.”3
Since the Bible tells us that God has set eternity in the human heart (Ecclesiastes 3:11), the only way that this longing for eternity can be satisfied is when man enters into a relationship with the God of eternity – Jesus Christ.
Again, Billy Graham adds insight here: “The problem is that instead of turning to God and letting Him fill our souls, we turn to other things — pleasure, fame, money, sex, or drugs and alcohol. Some people even turn to false philosophies or religions, hoping these will lead them to the truth and fill the empty place in their lives. For a time, they may think they’ve found what they were looking for, but in the end, they’re just as empty as they ever were. Tragically, some will even discover that they’ve almost destroyed their lives.”4
My friends, you are created in the image of God and your Creator designed and placed in your soul a unique hunger for a relationship with Him. And since all mankind is born with a soul that is separated at birth from God by virtue of our sin nature, only Jesus, is able to restore what the human soul was designed to experience – an intimate relationship with God. As a result, Jesus is the only way back to God, and He alone can fill our souls with what we all yearn for – peace, joy, meaning, and a holy awe for the majesty of our Creator God!
1 Did He Say That? – Tony Agnesi
2 Only Christ Can Fill the Emptiness in Our Souls