Bridging the Gap

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6 NAS)

Many of us have seen the illustration used during evangelistic meetings of Christ or the cross as the bridge between the relationship of man and God. Few however have given any thought of how the relationship between man and Christ may be bridged. The Bible records for us what Jesus said about bridging the gap between man and Christ.

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. (Acts 1:8 NAS)

Bridging the gap between man and Christ requires us to first be witnesses for the Lord. According to the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary, a ‘witness’ is a person who sees an event happening, or one who is to show or give proof of something, or a person who speaks from his own experience that something is true, or one who bears testimony to a fact with proof that something is true.

The death of Christ on the cross is an event of the past, so we can never be what the dictionary defines as ‘a person who sees an event happening’, but we can certainly ‘show or give proof’ of Jesus in us and speak from our experience that Jesus is true. Witnessing for Christ, therefore, means testifying Christ, sharing our experiences of Him, giving evidences of God's wonderful work in our lives, and reflecting visible traits that people can see of changed lives, from sinfulness to desiring holiness, and bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit with our lives revealing Christ.

As Christians, we are all called to be witnesses for Christ, to be the bridge between the unsaved and the believers in Christ. We bear witness for Christ by bridging the gap between a person who does not know Christ and the person who lives in Christ. We are the bridge between the unbelievers and Christ, the reflection of Christ living in our lives.

The way to reflect or show Christ in our lives is to do what writers do in 'showing' rather than 'telling'. In writing stories, showing is about engaging the readers in identifying themselves within the story, and at times challenging them into taking some positive action. This same principle may be applied in bearing witness for Christ, in bridging the gap between man and Christ. Rather than just telling people about Christ, we should show pre-believers what it means by having Christ in our lives, in engaging them to identify the difference between people who live in Christ and people who are without Christ, to challenge them into decisive action.

Telling people about Christ is fine, but unless we show what it means to have Christ in us, few will believe or desire to commit themselves in giving their lives to Christ. In bridging the gap between man and Christ, it is important to show Christ in our lives, rather than just telling people about Him. May we, therefore, 'show' more of Christ, rather than just 'tell' others about Him, in being the bridge between the unsaved and the people in Christ.