Closing The Gap

I heard a wise woman recently say, “The gap between her and Jesus was greater than the gap between her and people in her life far from God.” Interesting! I had to think about what she said. I wondered, is it true? Is the gap between Jesus and me, in character, nature, purity and holiness larger than the gap between me and people I know who snub God? After pondering and meditating on her statement, I concluded she was right. I might be a friend of Jesus, a child of God, walking in a relationship with Jesus, but I’m nowhere near the grandness, purity, and character of Jesus. Jesus has been working on transforming me since 1979, but the gap between Jesus and me is still massive. I have so far to go. I am being transformed into His likeness, but being transformed is a lifelong process. I will only be like Jesus when I see Him as He is. (2 Corinthians 3:18, 1 John 3:2, Romans 8:29-30; Philippians 3:21) Realizing the gap between Jesus and me is greater than the gap between me and people who ignore God has changed my perspective and attitude towards friends and family. The gap between Jesus and me gives me common ground to love, care about and for people in my life. We are told to “love our neighbor, love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us.” (Matthew 5:43 NLT) I can love them because I’m just like them. I wonder how many times Jesus has prayed over my life, “Father, forgive Matt. He doesn’t know what he’s doing.” (Luke 23:34 NLT) You and I are a lot more like our neighbors and enemies than we are like Jesus. We need Jesus’ love, forgiveness and grace every day. Let’s not kid ourselves, we’ve got a lot of transforming to do. “I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.” Philippians 1:6 (NLT)