The Happy Gap

Last night, Ecclesia began a journey that will likely not be a fun one. We are going to spend the next several weeks going through Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, found in Matthew 5-7. Most people, when thinking of the Sermon, think about the Beatitudes...."Blessed are the...." (Happy/Fortunate are the...).  This beginning of the Jesus' teachings in these chapters are the reel-in to get you listening, then Jesus unleashes what seems to be the barrier to ever becoming a Christian.

He goes through statements about adultry, divorce, how the law is still in effect, loving your enemies, and more. As you read his teaching, you'll find yourself slumping down in your seat. Why? What's going on here?

I think it has to do with our "Happy Gap."  You see, when we feel an emptiness in our life, a place where there is a hole, a gap between being totally satisfied and where we are now, we must fill it. We're not happy or satisfied, so we need to fill the gap with something. What we tend to gravitate toward are little gods we can bow to. I do it, everyone does it. But Jesus wants to free us from that need. He wants us to fill the gap in our life with Him and his presence.

Eugene Peterson, in The Message, writes Matthew 5:3 this way, “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule." I believe Peterson has really hit on something here in his transliteration of this verse. We when are empty in some area of our life, when we feel the gap not just physically, but in our very soul, we get a choice to fill it with something...a little god like lust, greed, or anger...or we can fill it with more of God and his rule. Our need to be happy (Blessed/Fortunate) will likely drive us one direction or the other. 

So the next time a gap comes upon the peace and calm of your life. Ask yourself the question, "what do I want to fill it with?" Will I fill it with a little god or with more of my Father and his Kingdom? We won't always get it right, so thank God for grace and his unending love for us as children. Our failures should not crush us, for He is there is to usher back on the path of repentance and faith. However, as we mature spiritually, hopefully we can keep our gaps filled with Him and his presence more than other idols or gods that lead to sin and destruction.

We will all face a happy gap...maybe even today. Fortunate are you that come to the end of your rope (whatever that rope is), for there is more room in your life for God and his Kingdom! Be blessed.