One of the fads of 1970s America was the motorcycle jump. This trend
reached its high (and low) point on September 8, 1974. Thousands of spectators
gathered around the Snake River Canyon in Idaho to see if Evel Knievel could
jump across the chasm in a specially designed “sky cycle.” In the end, however,
it was unsuccessful. Knievel made it only part of the way across the gulf
before his parachute deployed and he dropped to the canyon floor below. Some
spectators asked, “How far across the canyon did he get?” But that wasn’t the
point. He didn’t make it all the way across, so he fell short of his goal.
This scene is a good illustration of sin. The Bible talks about sin in
Romans 3:23, where Paul declared, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God.” No one is capable of bridging the gap between God and ourselves by our
own efforts, but the Savior came to do just that on our behalf. Christ
perfectly fulfilled God’s standards, then gave His life on the cross to pay for
our failure and wrongdoing. Where we could only fall short, Christ’s work,
offered in love, accomplished all that was needed.
Our response is to trust Him and receive this matchless gift of
salvation.
The cross of Christ bridges the gap
we could never cross on our own. (RBC)
