When you get on and off the subway in England you will see the caution sign \u201cMind the Gap.\u201d\u00a0 The gap is the space between the train and the station platform.\u00a0 People who do not mind the gap find themselves under the train and in danger.\u00a0We are born with the recognition that there is a gap in our lives.\u00a0 The gap is the discrepancy between what we are and how we live and what we should be and how we should live.\u00a0 We know and feel that we could be better, do better, live better.<\/p>\n
All religions recognize that there is a discrepancy between what we are and what we should be and they offer solutions to the narrow the gap.\u00a0 Though the details differ, virtually all religions assert that the solution is to try harder at being a better human.\u00a0 If we were a better parent or a better worker, or a more compassionate neighbor our relationship with God would be better.\u00a0 Some assert that if we tried harder at living simpler lives; if we spent more time centering our minds with the universe, we would feel better and we would be better people.<\/p>\n
The problem with the proposed solution is that our best is never good enough.\u00a0 There is more truth than we would care to admit in the old saying, the path to hell is paved with good intentions.\u00a0 We intend to be better in our relationships, but then something stupid happens and we find ourselves tearing down the very people we committed to love and honor.\u00a0 We intend to be more mindful, but there are so many distractions.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, there are some Christian churches that have embraced the same solution to our spiritual problem by offering \u201cChristian\u201d versions of \u201cjust try harder.\u201d\u00a0 Some churches teach that we find peace with God by observing certain rites and rituals.\u00a0 Some churches teach that we narrow the gap between what we are and what we should be by following the Bible; using it as an instruction book.<\/p>\n
The problem with the \u201ctry harder\u201d approach is that it ignores the reality that the discrepancy between what we are and what we should be is actually a surface crack to a much greater problem.\u00a0 We are born incapable of being good enough.\u00a0 We can never eliminate the gap.\u00a0 In fact, our efforts often result in the gap widening.\u00a0 Much of our life seems to be spent choosing the lesser of two evils.\u00a0 So, we live with this tension, the desire to be better and the depressing reality that our attempts are never going to be good enough.<\/p>\n
Jesus came with God\u2019s solution to the problem of the gap between what we are and what we should be.\u00a0Jesus did not come with a new set of rules or a 90-day plan of salvation.\u00a0 Jesus came to take our brokenness and our shame.\u00a0 God sent Jesus to bear our sin so that through His sacrifice we are not only forgiven, we are restored. This sacrifice is ours by grace; it is a free gift.\u00a0 Paul summarized sin and grace perfectly in Romans 6:23<\/p>\n
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.<\/p>\n
We do not earn it and we do not deserve it.\u00a0 Because of Christ\u2019s sacrifice for us, we now live with the certainty of this promise:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is no therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.\u00a0 Romans 8:1<\/p>\n
Grace Alone- our declaration to the world that God has freely given us the restoration that we so dearly desire through Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Sola Gratia When you get on and off the subway in England you will see the caution sign \u201cMind the Gap.\u201d\u00a0 The gap is the space between the train and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1262,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1166"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1168,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1166\/revisions\/1168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1262"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.digitalfootprint.site\/church2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}