the chasm is too great though the gulf between God and man is, is far too wide and we try our various planks, our planks of being good, of doing nice things, planks of being religious, of being confirmed, of being baptized, of going to church of perhaps attending church, perhaps even becoming a member of a church, the plank of saying prayers  I think you know and God doesn't even hear us, the bible tells us, if I regarded iniquity in my heart God doesn't hear me, he says I will not hear you, the only prayer that God hears from the sinner is God be merciful to me a sinner  and we've tried that plank and it doesn't work, of course it doesn't because that's not what it means to be a Christian, the plank of bible reading, we can read the bible, we can memorise it, it doesn't make us a Christian, Jesus said to some of the religious leaders of his days, you search the scriptures for you think that in them you have life, but you will not come to me, and so it's not being in religious, er being religious or any thing else as we well know, it's something far, far more fundamental than that, those words that Jesus said to Nicodemus you must be born again, that new birth, that new start, starting all over again, and so what happens, what's it all about, what is it to, what is it to be a Christian.