How do we handle the gap we create?

The following video transcript has been lightly edited

   Today as we continue in our series entitled The Good Life, what I want to talk to you about is the gap of us. So you and I have some perspectives, some idea on what the good life might look like and how we might live it. But if you're like me, what you will experience is that how you want to live and how you often live are not the same. There's a gap between the two. For example, one of the things that I desire to be, one of the values that I wanna live in my life is that I would reflect grace and gratitude. Now, I do that sometimes, but there's other times where I'm reflecting more sort of tired and grumpy. There's a part of me that has a life philosophy in which I want to be present, patient, and kind.

And the reality there is that there are some times where I'm those things, but if you stop by and you ask my family, Hey, is Kyle always present, patient and kind? They would say no. In fact, sometimes he's absent and other times he's impatient and sometimes he just seems a little mean. And I wish those things weren't true, but they are. And what we know is that it is true for all of us.

So what I wanna offer up today is some wisdom of how do we handle the gap of us. How do we handle the fact that while we have great intentions, we can't live up to those intentions? And we're gonna do it through a letter that Paul wrote to the church at Rome. And in the letter he basically talks about this thing called sin and how even though sin reigned, God shows up in the person of Christ and overcomes it, and that you and I are now attached to that grace.

So let's dig in a little bit because what it does is it allows us to do three things. Rather than deny the gap. We get to own it and acknowledge it, but not settle. Second, we want to embrace the way of grace. That's what this whole passage is about. And then lastly, we wanna walk in the newness of life.

So Paul says that the law came, and when the law came the trespasses multiplied. And what he's saying is that sin enters the world. And a lot of times we think about sin as something like, oh, these are all the things you're not supposed to do. And that's an okay definition. I prefer the definition that sin is us trying to find life in things that would bring us death.

And so Israel is pulled out of the world given this special purpose, but they can't overcome it. And the law, which would be considered a way to the good life, was not able to be lived by them. And what Paul says is that in the midst of that, even though the trespasses multiplied so did Grace, that grace through Christ comes and makes up for all of that, and in fact, it abounds.

So grace is the thing that can remake and repair the past. Grace is the thing that offers us forgiveness. Grace is God's power to set everything on an entirely new basis, and that grace is the same grace that meets us today. The power that we see in Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. To make the whole world new meets you and I today.

So while we are in that gap, and no matter how often we end up with some level of shortcoming, grace fills in. Now, does that mean that we make choices to just ignore our gap and not do anything about it? No. Paul's like, why would you do that? God has this life for you. That is the good life, the full life.

So don't settle, but also know that you don't have to be paralyzed. The things, that gap that you have created in your life is not something that forever holds you back, but rather in the renewal, you can engage it. And so one of the ways I think you can check in on this is you can ask yourself, where am I tempted to settle?

What part of my life has a gap between what I think the good life is and how I'm living it, and where am I choosing to settle? Where am I choosing to just say, eh, I can't do anything about it. Maybe it's being grateful. Maybe it's being generous to others. Maybe it's a sense of purpose and meaning.

Whatever those things are for you, engage it, own the gap that's there. Don't deny it and allow yourself to experience the freedom to grow.

The second thing that Paul sketches out in Romans 5:6 is this idea that grace is the new way. It's the new order of operation. It's the way that God operates.

And as we engage grace in that way, as grace abounds in our life. One of the things that can be true for us is it sets us on a new path. It transforms the way we see the world. You and I, in our day-to-day, often see the world as a place to either achieve or perform, or take or protect or avoid. And I think all of those things are instincts that contribute to this gap.

But if God meets us with this grace, then it transforms us and we get to see that we are actually in relationship. That while this gap exists, God has bridged the gap through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, which frees us to be in relationship to God, in relationship to others. So now this gap doesn't disqualify us from anything.

Rather the gap is just part of the journey. because that gap is bridged. And so you and I are set free to learn and grow and change. And what it does is it puts it on a relational basis. So now what our life is about, is about giving and receiving. It's not about achieving and buying and selling and taking, it's about receiving life.

It's about receiving grace from God. It's about acknowledging and being grateful for that, and it's about giving ourselves and to others. We give thanks for all that we've been given. We give our lives in a sense of faith to God because we know that he is the generous giver, and so we give in faith, we say, Hey, take this life of mine that I know isn't always perfect and just allow it to be something beautiful.

And lastly, because of the receiving, we give grace and love and generosity to others. And so the whole world gets set on an entirely new basis through this grace and us living as givers and receivers is embracing that way of grace. And so what might that look like for you in the midst of your day to day?

How could you build better rhythms and habits to live in that space of giving and receiving? Versus buying, achieving, proving, and whatnot.

Lastly, what Paul tells us is that we are caught up, that we are united to Christ in his death and in his resurrection. And the good news for us is that because we are united in his resurrection, we too have new life.

And in that way, what Paul is suggesting is that there's always possibility. Even in the midst of hopelessness, there is possibility, there's resurrection, there's that newness of life. And so no matter how the gap is challenging you right now, you don't have to let that defeat you. But rather because of the grace that we experience and because we are united in this future reality in which we'll experience resurrection partly now and fully in the future, you and I can live in this newness of life, this sense of hope and possibility.

And so where might you find yourself closing down, giving up hope? Allow the reminder. That you have been united in Christ's resurrection and your future and this world's future is one of restoration and resurrection. Hey, I hope this helps as you attempt to live the good life, that you realize that that gap is always gonna be there.

That, and you don't have to let it overwhelm you, rather you can own it and not settle. You can embrace the way of grace as a giver and receiver. And you can walk in the newness of life. I hope you have a great week, and we'll be back next week with one more round. Take care.