Ever been on the London Underground and heard the tannoy announce “Mind the Gap.”? The gap between the train and the platform seems small but has huge potential to be dangerous. Or, what about the ‘gap’ between Russia and the USA? Look at a standard map and it's the other side of the world. But did you know that the countries are only 2.4miles (3.8km) apart? It’s a relatively small gap, and yet it can take 21 hours to cross.
Relationships can be like that too. Geographically someone might be near you, in your sphere of influence, popping up all over the place physically, but emotionally you might be worlds apart. We need to mind the gap between our hearts and others.
Or what about the gap between your heart and Jesus?
How’s that gap these days?
We need to mind the gap.
When Nehemiah and the Israelites were rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem, their opposition heard “that the gaps were being closed” and became very angry (Nehemiah 4:7 NIV). We have an enemy who wants the gaps in our life to remain. Our enemy wants nothing more than for us to be unrepaired, shoddy, unstable and broken. The idea that we would make effort to close the gaps, and succeed(!), makes him so undeniably mad.
So what do we do to close the gaps?
As far as the relationships around us are concerned, we need to love. Love covers a multitude of sins (1 Peter 4:8) and we need to be kind, tender-hearted and forgiving (Ephesians 4:32). No matter the injustice, no matter the pain, no matter the whys and wherefores, our job is to do all we can to close the gap.
And the best news for the gap between us and the Father? Jesus has already bridged that gap (1 Timothy 2:5). We are reconciled and drawn close through no doing of our own. This gap has been closed by Christ because of His great love for us.
So I don’t know about the gaps in your life, but join me this week in praying that God, in His ultimate wisdom, would highlight and help us to repair any gaps that leave us exposed to external elements and open to the opposition.