How Can I Change?/Caught in the Gap Trap

From Gospel Translations

forward. We’d like to pray for you.”

It was Sunday morning. I had just finished teaching about anger, and wanted to give the Holy Spirit opportu- nity to work in the hearts of those present. But I could not have anticipated the response.

About twenty humble saints came down to the front of the auditorium—a large group for a church our size. And yet it wasn’t the number that caught my attention. It was the people themselves. Nineteen of the twenty were moth- ers of young children! (Anger is an occupational hazard, according to most mothers I’ve ever known.)

As their pastor, I knew all of these women to be serious and dedicated Christians. What caused them to come for- ward was their intense frustration at being caught in the gap—a gap between the biblical standard of self-control and their own failure to live up to that standard.

Whether the problem is anger, fear, worry, or some- thing as common as laziness, we’ve all experienced that gap between what we are and what we should be. The Bible says we’re new creations, victors, overcomers. And we’re not just conquerors—we’re morethan conquerors (Ro 8:37). Sometimes we even feel that way. More often than not, however, we have a hard time seeing beyond our limitations and perpetual failures. And it always seems to be during these seasons of life that Matthew 5:48 surfaces in our Bible reading plan: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

Quietly we sigh and think to ourselves, It will never happen.

I call this state of mind the “gap trap.” Here’s how it works: As Christians, we all have a certain amount of knowledge regarding what God expects from us. But we achieve less than we know we should be achieving. There exists then a gap between what we know is required and our actual performance. If the distance between what we know and what we’re living becomes too great, we can rightly be called hypocrites.

This gap is a fact of Christian life. For most of us, no one need tell us of our inconsistencies—we’re all too aware of them. Such awareness should serve to keep us humble and dependent upon God for success. But the trap is often sprung by our ignorance of the doctrine of sanctification. Rather than recognizing that the gap exists to urge us onward in fervent reliance upon Christ, we allow it to condemn us and halt our forward progress. We get trapped into thinking we’re just losers, failures, good-for-nothings...and maybe not even Christians. Some even lapse into inaction or disobedience. Those caught in this trap (and, to a certain extent, we all are) suffer unnecessarily from discouragement.

As a pastor, one of my main responsibilities is helping individuals out of the gap trap. I often find myself telling people, “It will not be instant, and it’s bound to require serious effort, but getting out of the gap trap is not com- plicated. And believe me, it will be well worth it.”

cated. And believe me, it will be well worth it.” Perhaps you’ve found yourself in the gap trap. Maybe you’re there right now. If so, we’re confident this book can help you close the gap between who you should be in Christ and who you are in actual practice.

Can you imagine a life in which you are breaking sinful habits and making real progress in godliness? Such a life is possible. And this book is written to assist and encour- age you as you make that life your own.

Between the “Now” and the “Not Yet”

Without question, one of the most frustrating things about the Christian life is the apparent contradiction between what God reckons us to be and what we, by expe- rience, know ourselves to be. Take the Corinthians, for example. At one point Paul assured them, “You were