Bridging the Great Divide... The Wayfarer 3/19/17

Bridging the Great Divide

Luke 16:24-26King James Version (KJV)
²⁴ And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
²⁵ But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented.
²⁶ And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence.


The great gulf, the great divide  between man and God began with the fall from grace  in the Garden of Eden as mankind chose to follow the misrepresentation presented by the serpent that allowed Eve to accept the lie given her, and to repeat it to Adam, who in turn accepted that lie as well rather than the absolute truth given him by his Creator.

That misrepresentation, that lie, continues despite the truth that was given as death came to a creature intended for life, as the proof of that death has propagated itself throughout the history of mankind and his continual search for the way to return to that grace first delivered in that Garden, along with the choice of acceptance or rejection of the simplest demand of obedience of that same Creator.

The love of that Creator that placed this creature in the Garden to begin with, has not diminished in the least from the day of Creation, nor has His anger at the rejection of that love diminished, as that rejection has grown with each deviation and attempted justification devised  to further propagate the lie of his equality with that Creator.

That GULF, that DIVIDE, was never intended, nor created by God, but rather, by man, and his pursuit of that equality that remains and will ever remain an impossibility.

Time and again a bridge of that divide was offered and rejected, the bridge requiring more of man than he has been willing to give.

Law was given  man to bridge the gulf, not to expand it, yet that bridge was unacceptable to men as they refused to comply, and continue in their refusal, denying the TRUTH of that bridge being offered, preferring to continue the lie given by one wishing only to condemn man to his own fate.

TRUTH was given, a bridge was given, a Way was given to return to the intended LIFE that was the intent for that creature that was given charge of that garden and choice within it.

That TRUTH was proof of the love and grace originally intended for the obstinate creature whose choice was rejection of that love and grace first given there, and the simplicity of the requirement of him within his place below that Creator.

John 1 King James Version (KJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

² The same was in the beginning with God.

³ All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

⁴ In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

⁵ And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

⁶ There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

⁷ The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

⁸ He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

⁹ That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

¹⁰ He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

¹¹ He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

¹² But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

¹³ Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

¹⁴ And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

The rejection of that grace and truth by the world at large did not diminish the truth of that grace and truth, or the love of the Creator  who provided it, but rather provided a final bridge of the gulf, the divide between man and God, a bridge that may be crossed only by acceptance of its existence...  in turn requiring acceptance of place intended instead of that sought by a perfect creature made imperfect only by his own choice.

Matthew 27:50-54

King James Version (KJV)

⁵⁰ Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.

⁵¹ And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

⁵² And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose,

⁵³ And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many.

⁵⁴ Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.

With the tearing of that veil, the throne room of God Himself became once more accessible to man, through the bridge offered by the sacrifice of His Son, Christ Jesus, and the mediation offered by Him alone for the obstinate creature that still refused to acknowledge his place as intended by  his Creator.

The Resurrection of that Son provided the messenger sought by a rich man that had refuted the message during life, yet sought for its delivery to those still living for their salvation despite his own damnation.

Refutation of the simple message delivered by the Messenger can only result in refusal to cross a bridge that has been provided.

Unless and until the message has been heard and accepted, the gulf must and shall remain, eternally fixed in place by the obstinance that first created the gulf and divide as man chooses either the TRUTH given through Christ Jesus or the lie given eve continually propagated throughout his history.

2 Timothy 1:12

King James Version (KJV)

¹² For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

Choice still remains for  all. I have chosen, as must each for himself.

Even so, come quickly, Lord Jesus.

The Wayfarer