the gap

Do you feel the gap?

I feel the gap when my soul stretches forth, reaching for something greater than myself. In moments of joyful celebration, I feel the gap. When my heart is burdened with sorrow and my cheeks are stained with tears, the gap is there. I perceive this gap I feel is the distance between God and me. There was never supposed to be a gap. It doesn’t belong, and my spirit fights against it.

I believe what I feel touches on a piece of our story, the story of human beings. I believe the ache in my heart is shared by many. Donald Miller writes in Blue Like Jazz, “I am early in my story, but I believe I will stretch out into eternity, and in heaven I will reflect upon these early days, these days when it seemed God was down a dirt road, walking toward me. Years ago He was a swinging speck in the distance; now He is close enough I can hear His singing. Soon I will see the lines on His face.”

It is not God’s intention to elude us. He wants to be known. So as he walks toward me, I wonder how to bridge the space between us? As I take each step the gap shortens, but on my own strength I could never reach the other side.

In the book of Jeremiah, we learn of a new covenant God made with us. Humans made covenants with God before this, but we broke them all. God did as he said he would, but we kept falling down. So God kept making new covenants, and continued to give us opportunities to know him. In this new covenant God says he’s going to write his law in our minds and on our hearts. And he goes on to say that all will have the chance to know him, from the least of us to the greatest (Jer. 31:31-34).

Not just a select few can know God, but everyone can know him.

And then there is Jesus standing within the gap between me and God. Pascal said, “A man does not prove his greatness by standing at an extremity, but by touching both extremities at once and filling all that lies between them.”

Jesus fills the gap between divinity and humanity.

And through Jesus we meet the Holy Spirit, who can dwell within us, in our minds and in our hearts. And through the Spirit’s guidance we can know truths that were previously hidden (Jn. 16:13).

God is bridging the gap between us.
And though the distance is shortening, it's still there. My soul reaches forth, aching to fill the void. I want to be close to God, but I can't seem to get close enough.