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Phillip A. Bishop,
Exercise Physiology,
University of Alabama




[October 3, 2010] —
Have you heard of the terrible condition called “CE?”

It dates from ancient times, and its symptoms have varied over the ages. There are numerous accounts of the ravages of it in the Hebrew Scriptures as well as in the Greek Testament.

CE is “congenital emptiness.” Blaise Pascal wrote in Pensees:

“What is it, then, that this desire and this inability proclaim to us, but that there was once in man a true happiness of which there now remain to him only the mark and empty trace, which he in vain tries to fill from all his surroundings, seeking from things absent the help he does not obtain in things present? But these are all inadequate, because the infinite abyss can only be filled by an infinite and immutable object, that is to say, only by God Himself.” (#425)

A good example of this emptiness is the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4. She had tried to fill her vacuity by seeking love, which would appear to be a logical cure. Who doesn’t want to be loved? In her quest she had married five times, and was living with yet another man when Jesus met her.

Is there a cure for CE? Many of us would be tempted to say, “Just believe in Christ and accept Him as Lord and your emptiness will vanish!” It is true that Jesus does offer a well of water springing up to eternal life. Sadly, that void can often be found in Christian believers as well as unbelievers.

Think about it. Many of us as Christians in academia seek to heal our own sense of emptiness with accolades, publications, recognition by peers, frenetic schedules, and for a few of us, even wealth. Some of our fillers during our “downtime” hours are actually good things: church work, humanitarian service, Bible study, community volunteering. If any one thing could cure me, wouldn’t these last few at least be somewhat palliative?

So what rids me of this scourge? Developing a deepening relationship with the Lord God of the Universe is what He intends to truly fill the void.

The Great Commission (MATT 28:19-20) literally says to make mathetes —“learners” although we typically think it means to make converts. Conversion gets me into heaven, but cultivating this relationship through my obedience allows the Potter to mold the clay. This is my continuous and occasionally painful therapy. To be His disciple, I must be abiding in Christ as the branches in the vine. And, yes, He will prune me.

So what does this have to do with being a Christian professor?

My teaching, research, and service on campus will inevitably reflect what is going on inside me. I want what is inside me to reflect Him in what I value, and how I respond to people.

When my source of satisfaction ultimately comes from Him, I deal with the successes and setbacks of academia differently. I treat people with their problems (and consequent interruptions to my schedule) with a little more compassion.

At least I do so most days; my healing is still in process.

© 2010 Phillip A. Bishop