Why your glass doesn't need to be half empty or half full

We all know the basic premise that there are those in life who see their glass as half empty while others see their glass as half full. Back in 1999 I spent a year interning with inner city kids in Camden, New Jersey with an organization named UrbanPromise. Besides working at the East Side After School Program every afternoon during the week, we took a number of classes on a variety of topics related to ministry. One of the exercises we did radically changed my outlook about how each of us sees and perceives the world.

During this particular class we each took a Myers-Briggs Personality Test. Once our tests were scored we were split up into groups based on our personality profiles: Intuitive Feelers, Intuitive Thinkers, Sensing Feelers, and Sensing Thinkers. Our mission: spend 20 minutes in our groups writing about the object set in front of us: an 8 ounce bottle of water with about 4 ounces of water inside. Being a member of the Intuitive Feelers we discussed: the cleansing of our sins by the water of life, the new life imparted to us through baptism, and our thoughts about how Peter walked on water towards Jesus.

When it was time to regroup as a class, our group shared first. Next came the Sensing Thinkers. Here is a synopsis of what their spokesperson shared, "It's a bottle of water. It has ridges on the bottle about half an inch apart starting about two inches from the bottom. About three inches from the top there is a rounded slope that leads to a cylindrical opening about half an inch tall, which also has ridges on it. There is a lid on top of the bottle. The water fills 50 percent of the bottle. That's it. It's a bottle of water".

Are you a half full Fiona or a half empty Emilio? The world has a million ways of trying to shift one's perspective on the glass of water. Some would say, "Focus on the water that's there", or "Don't focus on the water that's not there", or "The water doesn't really matter".

In John 15 verses 9-11 it says, " As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete." Did you catch that last part? Our joy may be complete? Yes, that's exactly what it says. In other words, in Christ and through the power of the Holy Spirit our cup never has to be half full or half empty. 
 
For you Sensing Thinkers, Sensing Feelers, or Intuitive Thinkers out there please bear with me on this. I like to think of the Holy Spirit as the Niagara Falls of joy. God, himself, is the true water of life. Our reservoir of joy is like that half empty bottle of water. Yes, in our own strength, our bottle is not filled no matter how you look at it, how you spin your circumstances, or think positive thoughts. It will never be truly full without Jesus.

So, why not ask him to make your joy complete? It's as easy as saying, "God, I am empty. Fill my cup."