None of us is designed to make the journey of life alone. We are all designed to live our lives in relationship with God. The bad news is that we all begin our journey separated from God. The cause of this separation is our sin.

The Bible talks about it this way:

"For all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious standard" (Romans 3:23).

When the Bible says, "all have sinned; all fall short," it means that, in our thoughts, words, and actions, none of us have lived up to God's standard of perfection. And our sin not only causes us to be separated from God, but it also earns us a penalty of death.

The Bible talks about it this way:

"For the wages of sin is death . . ." (Romans 6:23).

 . . . I [God] do not leave sins unpunished (Exodus 34:7).

To make matters worse, we cannot, by our own efforts, escape God's judgement or pay the penalty for our sin. No amount of personal effort, good works, or religious deeds can earn us a right relationship with God.

But God has provided a bridge to relationship ...