This good news—also known as the gospel—says that Jesus has bridged the chasm that we created between us and God. Our rebellious attitude and evil actions (what the Bible calls sin) separates us from God and makes us deserving of God’s righteous judgment. Unfortunately, the same sin that separates us from God also blinds us towards God, so we tend to be confused about the reality and seriousness of this situation.
Even if we become aware of our separation from God, we often respond by simply ignoring God and living our own life apart from him. Or perhaps we respond by trying to reconcile with God by our own effort–like becoming religious, trying to live a good life, or doing any number of good things. But no matter how hard we try, our own efforts can’t even begin to bridge our separation from God. Bottom line, without God’s help, we’re still under God’s judgment; we are forever separated from God and God is forever separated from us.
Fortunately, God chose to bridge this separation himself. God the Son became human in the man called Jesus Christ. Jesus lived a perfect good life without sin. His enemies sentenced him to death on a cross, but Jesus willingly accepted their sentence. And when Jesus died on that cross, Jesus willingly suffered God’s penalty for our sin. His sacrifice simultaneously demonstrated God’s righteousness and God’s love, as Jesus absorbed the suffering that we deserved and brought reconciliation through his death. Then on the third day Jesus rose alive from the grave, never to die again.
This is the good news: through Jesus’ death and resurrection, God is no longer separated from us. God now comes near to us to invite us to believe this good news. God has already done all the work, so once we believe him and respond in grateful acceptance, we are completely forgiven and have eternal life with God.
This is why you’ll see lots of photos of bridges here on the blog. The bridges are meant to be reminders of the good news of Jesus Christ. Through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, God has crossed over to us. God isn’t even standing distant on the other side waiting on us. God is actively pursuing us, inviting us to recognize Jesus as God, believe in his good news, and be restored to God forever.
On Your Side Today 