Apr
5
2017
The Missing Piece
Posted in Salvation 2 Comments
There has to be something lurking in the dryer.
There has to be something with sharp claws lying in wait for its next prey.
There has to be some toothy thing waiting to devour its unsuspecting victim.
I’m sure of it.
Whatever it is, it is too quick to catch.
Wherever it hides, it makes itself known in sinister ways.
Wherever it lurks, it waits patiently to attack.
I’m positive.
There has to be something lurking in the dryer because socks do not just disappear.
A sock can go from your drawer, to your foot, and to the hamper without incident.
A sock can be taken off and tossed in the dirty laundry with finesse.
Many a three-pointer was made this way when my boys lived at home.
There has to be something sinister in the recesses of the dryer’s metal drum.
It only comes out when the door is closed.
When the light of day can no longer shine, it slithers out of hiding.
I’m certain.
Socks cannot make that complete journey from drawer, to foot, to hamper and then disappear.
The sinister dryer menace has an appetite for only one sock.
The dryer menace has its full and leaves the other sock alone.
I’m convinced.
The other sock is a witness that is sworn to secrecy.
I search the large metal drum along the top and on the sides and find nothing.
Where is the land of the lost socks?
Where does the sinister dryer menace take them when it is finished with them?
There must be something lurking in my silverware drawer as well.
There were eight forks in two different patterns.
Sixteen forks are in the compartment that is designed for forks.
Suddenly, one pattern has eight forks and one pattern has seven.
I checked the recesses of the dishwasher looking for the lost fork.
It is nowhere to be found.
I checked the other compartments where the spoons and the knives reside.
There was nothing out of the ordinary there.
When was the last time all the forks were together in one place?
It is not as if the lost fork will call out to me.
The sinister dishwasher menace has taken it away for sure.
I am confident.
Shel Silverstein understood exactly what I am suggesting.
In his book, The Missing Piece, he tells the tale of a circle that has a missing piece.
The circle rolls along awkwardly, yet as it rolls, it sings.
It can stop to smell a flower, or talk to a worm, or have a butterfly land on him.
The circle with the missing piece is miserable.
He feels that he is unfulfilled until he finds his allusive missing piece.
Through trial and error, he finally finds a piece that fits.
However, now as a circle without a missing piece, he rolls too fast.
He rolls past the worm.
He rolls past the flower.
He rolls too fast for the butterfly to land on him.
The song he sang now sounds all jumbled as he speeds by.
He stops and gently releases the piece that seemed to fit so perfectly.
The piece is sad.
The circle rolls along awkwardly as before.
The circle with the missing piece is content in who he is despite what he is missing.
We are very much like that circle with the missing piece.
We go through life thinking that we need this or that to be complete.
We spend so much time and energy looking for what eludes us.
If only we had _____, then we would be happy.
Often, after we finally get that which we have been seeking, we are unimpressed.
There is a bit of a let down.
The chase was far better than the acquisition.
That’s how it is with things of the world.
For in Him (Christ) dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power. (Colossians 2:9,10)
We all have a missing piece.
We seek to satisfy that missing piece with things of the world.
Money, power, status, relationships, and possessions are some of the things we try.
Even if one of those things seem to fit, the fit is only temporary.
What we thought we wanted so badly does not satisfy.
We come to know, through the Holy Spirit, that our missing piece can only be filled one way.
We roll along awkwardly until we come face to face with Jesus.
We finally see that faith in Jesus is the piece we are missing.
Coming to faith in Jesus alone, satisfies completely.
We still may look uneven.
We still may roll along awkwardly at times.
However, we are complete in all the ways that matter.
Our completion is eternal.
No one can ever take our missing piece away.
We cannot lose our missing piece.
We cannot choose to let it go.
We are His.
We belong to Him.
Jesus is the piece that we have been missing all along.
We are only complete, eternally complete, in Him.
As for the lost sock and the lost fork, that remains a mystery.
Salvation in Christ alone is explained in God’s Word.
It is not a mystery, though it eludes some.
Pray for the Holy Spirit to show you what truly satisfies.
Then roll along singing His praises.
If only people would realize this great truth–Jesus is the missing piece in their lives. Believing and trusting in Him will not make our paths always easy, but He will always be there to hold us up in ALL situations! Thank You, Lord.
Sue,
You are so right. Jesus is the missing piece. Nothing else will truly satisfy. We can search for all sorts of things to fill the void in our soul, but only Jesus will fill the deepest longing of our heart.
Gina