Un-built. Living a life that hasn't started yet.

Our neighborhood still has some plots of land for sale, rectangles of red dirt scattered in between homes that have already been built. As my daughters and I passed by one of these empty lots, my youngest asked, "Dad, did a house just abandon that land?" She naturally assumed that every lot should have a house on it, so if a lot is empty, then the house must have left. I was looking for a quick answer that would allow me to get on with our exercise, so I told her that the houses didn't leave, they were just 'unbuilt'. She accepted that answer and we continued back home.

My daughter moved on but I didn't, I was stuck on 'unbuilt.' Nobody had left... it's just that nothing had ever begun.

Is your life unbuilt? Life can be full of beautiful people, satisfying work and loads of activities, and in the end, it can still be empty, unsatisfying, unfulfilled... unbuilt. The people and events that fill up our lives can be meaningful and we should approach them in loving, responsible and moral ways but the people or things in your life are not capable of making you complete.

Your life can be full of any combination of things, people or places but without Jesus, your life isn't fulfilled, just busy.

People are more than a pool of X and Y chromosomes that come together to form heartbeats and headaches... we are the children of God and we were born to be with Him. Life will still be busy, it will still be full of joy and pain, but our lives must be built on and in Christ who breathes LIFE into the middle of our mess, it's what we were made for. The bible says it's not as much "what" we look for as it is "who" we look for:

" Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb... Mary stood outside the tomb weeping. "They (two angles) asked her, "Woman, why are you crying?" "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him." At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. "Woman," he said, "why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?" Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him." Jesus said to her, "Mary. She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!' (which means Teacher). Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet returned to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am returning to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.' " Mary Magdalene went to the disciples with the news: "I have seen the Lord! And she told them that he had said these things to her." John 20:1-18

"Who is it you are looking for?" It's one of the most poignant questions in the entire Bible. It's one of the most critical questions of your entire life: "Who are you looking for?"

If you are looking for a love to share your life with, you can look for a relationship. If you are looking for companionship, you can look for a pet. If you are looking for entertainment, you can look to the internet, the television or the radio. There are so many people and things in life that you can look to. The question remains, "Who are you looking for?"

On Easter morning, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb looking for Jesus and Mary's life was changed. The people that Mary would come in contact with and the places that Mary would visit were forever changed. She had come back to the empty tomb expecting death, prepared to continue mourning the loss of Jesus, instead she found life and her life was forever changed.

Who are you looking for? Relationships are great, in fact, they're necessary. We need interaction with other people. Pets are great, our dog is truly a joy in my life. Entertainment is phenomenal, great movies make me think about life and good music soothes me in times of stress. These can be good things. But if your life is only full of these, then your life is unbuilt. Eventually, you will find that there is a void, an emptiness that needs to be filled. The emptiness wasn't created because something or someone has left, the emptiness is there because life has yet to begin. Your life feels empty because it is waiting to be built.

Look for Jesus. If you look, you will find Him. (Mt. 7:7-8)

Ask Jesus into your life right now. Don't be afraid or ashamed. God knows you and He is not mad at you- He loves you, really. Jesus already knows, and He has simply been waiting on you to come looking. Ask Jesus in to your life now. Ask Him to forgive you of your sins- He will. Ask Him to fill your life- He will. You don't have to have your life put together first or know all of the answers first, Mary came to the tomb expecting death and Jesus provided life. Come to Jesus and ask for life, He is waiting to make a home in your unbuilt life.