Filling the Emptiness

June 1, 2004

by Franklin Graham

It's been ten years since the death of Kurt Cobain, a popular singer with the grunge rock group Nirvana. His body was found several days after his death—a suicide that was the result of drugs, guns and a confused mind. One major newspaper reflected on his life and death with a story headlined, "Cobain's dark life left a shining legacy."

Whatever you may think of Cobain's life or his music, there was no shining legacy in his death. A note found next to his body revealed the depth of his despair and rage, indicating that there was a big, black, empty hole in his heart that nothing had been able to fill.



That emptiness is a God-shaped vacuum that is in the soul of everyone who has never trusted in Jesus Christ. This is the way the Apostle Paul described it in his letter to the Ephesians: "You must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts" (Ephesians 4:17-18, NIV).

The good news of the Gospel is that it delivers us from the bad news of sin and death. The sins that have "separated us from the life of God" are forgiven through faith in Jesus Christ. Eternal and abundant life is ours the moment we receive Him into our hearts.

That is why I never tire of proclaiming the Gospel. Just a few weeks ago in Bakersfield, Calif., I watched as thousands gave their hearts to Jesus as Lord and Savior. More than half of those who came forward to follow Christ were young people. Today I see a greater response to the Gospel from adolescents than I ever have before. They are weary of trying to fill that empty space with drugs, alcohol and sex. The pursuit of pleasure—no matter how much our culture tries to glamorize it—never truly satisfies the soul. Christ alone is the answer, and when young people hear His offer of love and forgiveness, they often rush to Him.

BGEA is reaching out to youth in other ways as well. Our youth-oriented Web site, passageway.org, receives thousands of visits each week, and we are testing new curriculum that will help young people share Christ with their friends.

Please pray for us this month as I lead a Festival in Tijuana, Mexico. Pray for the multitudes that will come—young and old—to fill dark, empty holes in their hearts with faith in God's Son, Jesus Christ.