The Space Between
(This post has been a “draft” for several months… I’ve decided to edit and publish the post, at long last.)
I’ve completed reading Chasing Daylight. I plan on doing one or two more posts from that book, but I wanted to write about what I’m currently reading - John Stott’s Basic Christianity. Every once in a while, it’s good to go back and read something like this book. Athletes become great by practicing the fundamentals of the game. The same is true with Christianity. We come to a greater understanding of God by knowing the fundamentals of His nature, and the “basics” of Christianity.
During my reading today, Stott tells a story of a man who realized the vast space between himself and God as he grew closer to God. His journals were filled with the details of how badly he failed, daily, in his faith. He didn’t pray enough, read the Bible enough. The list goes on. However, this man was a missionary. Someone who had a deep passion for spreading the Gospel to the lost. Someone whom I’m sure God was very proud to have called into service.
I can relate to this man by the fact that I can be very hard on myself at times. I can tend to beat myself up for the times when I fall short or make mistakes. Lately, I’ve been frustrated with my faith, or lack thereof. I haven’t been “on fire” for God lately. It’s been easy for me to see the sin in my life and feel guilt and shame. I’ve been asking this question a lot - “where’s my joy?” Turns out, this might not be such a bad thing.
Stott says that as we grow closer to God, it’s easier for us to see how imperfect we are in relation to the perfection of God. I guess when we realize how short we fall of His perfection, it’s easy for us to feel guilt and shame. It’s just interesting how we can be growing closer to God, but still feel so far away from Him. My joy comes from the fact that try as I may to reach God’s expectations, my salvation isn’t based on those expectations. Thank God!
