"Mind the gap". This phrase first impressed me while riding the London subway on my first ever overseas-trip. Mostly it stuck in my mind because I wondered why they didn't just say "watch your step." Thanks to my recent reading of Ezekiel, when I ride the subway now and see a similar sign, I am struck by an entirely different thought.
In the book of Ezekiel, the Lord warns of the impending judgment on Jerusalem. In Chapter 22, He talks of all that He has against the city. In verses 30 and 31, God says, "I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not destroy it; but I found no one. Thus I have poured out My indignation on them." This verse broke my heart thinking of all the people around me that are falling into the gap.
Just like in Ezekiel's day, we are told in Matthew 25 that Jesus will return one day to judge the world. In Mark 16:15, Jesus commands His followers to, "Go into all the World and preach the gospel to all creation." In essence, He is calling each one of us to stand in the gap between Him and the world. He doesn't want any to perish (2 Peter 3:9), but so many don't know him. If we refuse to "mind the gap" then they will suffer.
Considering Helene's post yesterday, I won't ask you what you have done lately to "stand in the gap," but I ask you to think about it. Perhaps as we seek this week to do good in secret we can all reach out to a neighbor and try and pull them from the gap.
Jane
Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), Copyright(c) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
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