Fallen But Filling In The Gaps Ourselves

Lies. I'm thinking about lies. Why we lie. How often we lie. Who do we lie to. All of it.

As you may have guessed I believe mankind is fallen. I didn't always believe that but I do now because the Bible states it and proves it. Anthropology also brings this out.

Lies, to me, are an evidence of the fall.

I know... people who believe in evolution or some other scenario where man is 'progressing' also have an explanation for lies and lying but 'wow'... the fall just puts it right into perspective for me.

Fallen people have gaps in knowledge and they try to fill them in ways that are beneficial. We do it to survive and to dodge guilt and shame but the thing is... we all do it. Some just make it into a lifestyle.

'Gaps' are a result of the fall.

I see three things that are just part of the human experience but to me they provide evidence that mankind is fallen and needs Heavenly intervention.
- The fact that we lie (gaps in knowledge)
- The reality that people age, get sick and then die (gaps in our biology)
- That we kill each other (gaps in love... we see the need to remove a person who would just die anyway later because it benefits us in some way)

Jesus came to deal with all of these things and He has.

The 'progression' folks have strange convoluted answers for all three of these things but just look at them. They are cracks in our existence that we all suffer from. They are downward cycles with no escape.

The liar needs a savior.

Go ahead and tell a liar that their children's, children's children are going to outgrow lies and hatred. Not only is that a lie but it is no comfort to them.

We all need a perfect person who sees us just as we are and loves us just as we are. Some one who won't lie. Some one with no gaps. Some one to give us hope.

Jesus loved His lying disciples. He embraced murderous humanity as we killed Him. He carries those who grow old and die into His bosom and makes them young again.

Jesus is the solution but many still don't want Him. His way is a narrow way. For some it will take them realizing He isn't 'a' solution. He is the only solution. Still others would rather die lying to themselves and hold on to that false control of perception until it is too late.

I love the term 'believer' to describe someone who has trusted Jesus because a believer is someone who doesn't just settle for things as they are now 'by sight'. They trust in a higher better way and you can see glimpses of that higher better way in their lives. They touch the Holy One and light shines from that Holy One into a dark world.

"But that is not the way you learned Christ! - assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil. Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." - Ephesians 4:20-32 ESV

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The Great Gulf

"But Abraham said, 'Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.' " - Luke 16:25-26 ESV

This is a verse that gives us a peek into the pre-crucifixion afterlife. When Jesus ascended into Heaven things changed. The doors of Heaven opened not only for Him but for all the people that went before Him and would come after Him.

"And Stephen said: 'Brothers and fathers, hear me. The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham when he was in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran...

...Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him. But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.

And he said, 'Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.'

But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him. Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.

And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, 'Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.' And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, 'Lord, do not hold this sin against them.' And when he had said this, he fell asleep." - Acts 7:2a, 54-60 ESV

Stephen gave a long speech that I omitted but we see at the end of it Jesus standing up and receiving him into Heaven.

I think about that great gulf that was present for Abraham. We see a different kind of gulf in Stephen's account. Stephen saw what no one else there saw.

I have felt this gulf in my own life. After I got converted I tried to do the things I did before... I tried to like the things I loved before. I couldn't. I was still 'me' but a different 'me'. I had been moved to a different place. In one way it was a great thing because like Lazarus I had suffered in that other life and now I had a new one with a new start and better provisions.

It's funny how this nameless rich man does not ask to pass over to the other side. He just wants a provision from the other side. Abraham however does talk about it. He has compassion on the rich man. He does not want to exclude him. He just can't reach him. Stephen also has compassion on the people he is speaking to. He wants to reach them but knows that words alone can't do it. God must do it. God uses words but the words are there to trigger a faith decision and then God moves a person from one side of the gulf to the other.

The gulf Jesus crossed when He died and rose again is unfathomable. He now has the power to bring us to Himself.

I want everyone I have ever known to see Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father. I want everyone I know now to see Him. I want everyone I meet in the future to see Him. Words fail me many times. Like the blind man in John chapter 9 I just know that I was blind but now I see. I can't make others see... but Jesus can.

You may have looked at Him before but I plead with whoever is reading this to look at Him again. Read His words. Ask God to show you who Jesus Is. If you don't believe in God then just ask the question out loud to whoever might be listening. God will hear you. Jesus Is the One who bridges the gulf. He doesn't bring good people and shun bad people. He brings those who believe.

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