A Cross to Bridge

Looking at the Good News we have to share, one cannot escape the unique good news of Christianity: What was impossible for man…was made possible by God.

No other world religion can make the claim that God reached down to do for us what we could not do. That God would pay what was needed out of His grace and love and give it as a gift. It is something we could never earn. God gave us a Cross to bridge from an earthly mortal existence to true eternal life.

Since the fall of Adam, there has been a great chasm, impossible to traverse because there was no bridge. No amount of good works could erase a sin nature and somehow make it possible for us on our own merits to walk into heaven, into the presence of a holy God.

How many of us would prefer to do it ourselves?
Whether it’s a matter of control or pride or self, we cannot do the impossible.
For a Do-It-Yourself culture, this is hard to swallow.
We can act as perfect as we can, avoid sinning to near perfection, and do as much good as is humanly possible. But it’s not enough because once sin stained mankind, that sin cannot be hidden by good works.

There’s only one way to get rid of our sin nature and that is to give us a new nature. In Christ, we are not only forgiven, we are redeemed and given a new nature. There is forgiveness covering repentant hearts for the sins we have committed, ones of omission where we failed to do the good we knew to do, ones of our thought life that is only known by ourselves and God, our unspoken hatred of others, our unspoken and articulated self-hatred, and the proud intents of our hearts that rob God of His glory. In place of the punishment we deserve for such audacity and affront, God gives grace. He sent His Son.

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son,
that whoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have eternal life.
John 3:16

Thank You, Father, that You loved us this much. You gave us a Cross to bridge the chasm between ourselves and You because You see Your Image in us. No matter how fallen, how stained, how broken we are, yet You see Your Image in us and sent Your Son Jesus Christ to redeem us. It is His blood shed for us that accomplished this impossible endeavor. Jesus saves. Jesus alone. We bring nothing to the table, there is nothing we can offer You but our gratitude and our praise. You are holy. You are righteous. You are perfect. Your goodness, faithfulness, and love extend to all generations. Give us words to speak Your Good News to a hurting world. Use me, Lord. Send me today. Amen.