Please, Mind the Gap

 

My husband and I recently took our daughter to Europe as a college graduation present.  We used London’s

subway system, The Tube, to get everywhere we went.  Each time the doors got ready to open, a female

voice sporting a friendly British accent kindly reminded passengers, “Please mind the gap” to keep them from

falling and getting injured.

All week, we found much humor in doing impressions of the announcement in our lame British accents.  My

husband even bought a Mind the Gap t-shirt to avoid forgetting this iconic expression.

While I transferred his t-shirt from the washer to the dryer recently, I realized my life once included a much more

dangerous gap than the one reflected by the words on my husband’s souvenir. This threatening gap held the

potential to keep me permanently separated from my Creator who longs to give me eternal life.

The cold, hard truth is that God is righteous and I am not. Because of this, an expansive gap, known as my fleshly

sinful nature, stood between us. That is until I made a momentous decision as a young girl so it doesn’t anymore.

The best news of all is that I didn’t have to work to overcome the separation.  My good Shepherd sacrificed

His Son for all humanity so this divide could be erased. Although the initial work had to start with me choosing

Jesus, Christ physically minded the gap for me. The work was done and paid for through His death and

resurrection. Unlike the great effort I exerted to safely step off a subway train, no effort of mine could ever

clean me up enough to look more pleasing to God.  He loves me because of who I am, not because of what I

do or don’t do.

Of course, the most life-giving treasure of closing this gap lies in its power to rescue me from the sins I continue

committing every single day.  Becoming a follower of Jesus certainly did not make me perfect. I will be a

sinner until I go Home. Instead, it means I serve a perfect God who fiercely loves me in spite of my

imperfections.  I am a perfectly broken vessel whom He chooses to use to carry out His divine purposes.  

Just as important are the everyday, sustaining treasures that lie in the collection of God's attributes that make

survival in this broken, dark world possible.  God’s profound comfort, guidance, love, faithfulness,

goodness, provision, presence, sustaining grace, mercy, forgiveness, and wisdom are all ready and

waiting for those who seek and know Him. 

It’s undeniable that this world is full of trials, pain, and heartache.  It would be fair to say that my life has

included an overabundance of adversity.  Living day in and day out for forty-two years with a pervasive and

demanding visual impairment and then tragically, out-of-nowhere, losing my son to suicide four years ago

definitely rank at the top of the suffering charts. God’s presence, power, and promises are the only explanation

for my survival of such hardship and struggle. I would be lying if I attributed it to MY own strength, resilience,

or perseverance. My ability to get back up and continue standing today is solely based on the treasures I

received when I decided to mind the gap that  impacted the reality of my eternal residence.  Every piece of

God’s character works in me and through me to help me press on in spite of affliction.   

 

The same treasures are available for you, too. 

You don’t have to wait for the gap to slowly shrink over time.  It will instantly evaporate as though it never

existed the moment you trust in Him.

Maybe life feels really good for you right now and you’re wondering why you would waste your time even

considering such a useless subject.  It’s tempting to put off minding the gap when we’re young, busy, and

wholeheartedly “living it up.”  Or while life is smooth sailing and shows no potential for imminent danger anytime

soon. The lies that tell us a relationship with God will cramp our style and consume our time are dangerously

convincing.

The truth is, though, that none of us knows when our world could come crashing down around us.  Or when

we or our loved ones will take our last breath.  There may not be time to mind the gap at the scene of the

fatal car crash, when the heart attack strikes, or as the violent criminal enters the public space we decided to

visit.

So, imagine me speaking these words in my best British accent,  “Please, mind the gap if you haven’t already while the opportunity still awaits.”