Daily Bible Reading Plans to help you read and understand God’s Word

Scripture Reading: Genesis 3:1-13, Genesis 3:22-24, Isaiah 59:1-3, Romans 3:23, Isaiah 53:1-12, Ephesians 1:7-10, Romans 8:31-39

When I have conflict with a friend, the angst I feel over the disruption in our friendship is awful. There is always a moment of uncomfortable tension—stand-offish behavior that highlights the friction between us. Even when I know I have done something to hurt their feelings, I don’t always want to own up to it. So the chasm between us grows. It’s a terrible feeling to lose, even temporarily, that human connection that we all long for. 

When I read about the ways that sin separates us from God, I feel that same pit in my stomach. I don’t want there to be anything that keeps me from being near to God. Yet we all start our relationship with God separated from Him because of our sin (Romans 3:23). We were created to be close to Him, and many of us spend our lives trying to fill this gap of connection that can only be found in God. 

In the book of Isaiah, God promised a great rescue for our painful separation from God. One would come to bear our griefs, carry our sorrows, be crushed for our iniquities, and heal our wounds with His (Isaiah 53:4–5). It is through this person, Jesus, that the gap was closed, the separation was mended, and our hearts were restored to peace. By “his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding” (Ephesians 1:7–8). 

Those who are saved by Jesus experience the joy of knowing they are forgiven! And yet...we still sin. We know the beauty of being close to God, and still we disrupt the connection. 

It is because of the fall of humanity (see Genesis 3) that we cannot hold onto this mended relationship. Our sin always gets in the way. The sorrow from our continual betrayal of God can either sink us in despair or cause us to turn to Jesus once again, trusting that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Him (Romans 8:39). God’s love is so much greater than our sin! Because of Jesus, we can confess our sin and ask for forgiveness, and we can celebrate what Christ has done on our behalf. We can pursue humility, and we can approach His throne with confidence (Hebrews 4:16). 

Because of this truth, we can approach our other relationships with confidence too. Yes, we will mess up. But we can own our mistakes more freely knowing that God does not condemn us (Romans 8:1). We can acknowledge where we went wrong and ask for forgiveness. We can forgive others and take steps to restore the closeness we once shared. For we are all sinners, deeply flawed but even more deeply loved.

Written by Bailey Hurley