Over Spring Break, our family took a trip to Arizona to spend time with my parents and to visit the Grand Canyon. It was the first time Luke, I, or the kids had experienced it. What a sight! Standing at its edge, you can’t help but be in awe at its grandeur, amazed at its beauty, in wonder at the power behind its formation, and (at least for me) in fear of the dangerously steep canyon walls that jet downward for over a mile to the base.
As we looked out over the expanse, the lyrics from the song Living Hope by Phil Wickham (a great song) kept coming to my mind. “How great the chasm that lay between us. How high the mountain I could not climb.” This was likely because of a powerful visual someone shared with me a while back using the Grand Canyon to help explain the separation that exists between me and God because of my sin and why only Jesus can bridge that gap. I was going to write more about that here, but I found this video which visually shares in 2 minutes what would probably take me paragraphs to explain =-) Please watch:
As a visual learner, the analogy pictured here combined with the experience of standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon and feeling the vast separation between me and the other side, put the reality of my state without Jesus in better perspective and reminded me again of my great need for Him. Moreover, it caused me to rejoice in the kindness of God—a kindness I do not deserve. “But, God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). Because of the richness of His mercy and breadth of His great love, He sent Jesus to bridge the divide and made it possible for me to cross over the vast expanse from death to life! “Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life” (John 5:24).
Just as words and pictures cannot capture the breadth of the beauty of the Canyon, so too, words and visuals can never capture the breadth of the beauty of this wonderful truth! I am thankful beyond what my soul could ever express!
By Katie Miller
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