From the Faith–Life Gap to the Potential–Impact Gap

Simply put, the faith-life gap is the disconnect between what you say you believe and how you actually live.

Seen through the lens of God’s Will — which Jesus says is the condition for entering Heaven — we could say the gap appears whenever we live by our own will rather than the Father's Will. “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only the one who does the Will of My Father in Heaven.” — Mt 7:21.

This gap can undermine

our ability to reach our full potential, and so limit the impact our lives are meant to make in society.

In our everyday life — from studies to work, from family to relationships, from business to politics, from social life to service — we are called to bring change for the better. Yet when God’s Will is absent, our potential for impact is left unrealised.

It’s not that you don’t want to do God’s Will. Often, it’s that you can’t quite figure out what His Will looks like for your life. But here is the truth: whatever His Will is for your particular life, in following it, you will unleash your potential for impact.

God’s Way moves us forward; our own way pulls us backward.

A good starting point is to look at what God has already embedded in us: our human abilities (what we can do), capabilities (what we could do), and capacities (how much we can do), to begin bridging the potential–impact gap and driving change as women of God.

May I suggest life skills for starters? If God planted these seeds in us, it’s because He wants us to develop them — like the talents entrusted to be multiplied.