I will never forget my very first trip to Savannah, Georgia.
It was a place that my husband and I had always wanted to visit. When we arrived there, we were really surprised at how beautiful it was. There was so much to do and see. The weather was beautiful and by all accounts, it was a wonderful vacation. It was absolutely perfect.
While we were there, we decided to purchase tickets for the trolley that made a tour through the historical district with all those big beautiful homes of the rich and famous. I have to admit that it was quite interesting, and in fact, it was "eye-opening."
The driver of the trolley would practically creep past each stop so that we could get a good look at each point of interest. We were shown one of the oldest and most famous churches in Savannah. Then, just as we were slowly passing the church, the driver sped up the trolley and flew past the back entrance where there stood a long line of homeless people being served a lunch meal.
It was not a welcoming site for tourists.
"Show me the good and the beautiful, but leave out the bad and the ugly!"
That single moment bothered me, and I’m glad that it did. You see, that is the reason that the world is the way that it is today. We turn a blind eye to the indifference and injustice in the world. We turn our heads away from the things that may tug our 'heartstrings" for fear that it will force us to do something about it!
To see and acknowledge those types of things means that as Christians we cannot turn away. However, some of us do. We don’t want to be inconvenienced. We don’t want to be burdened. We don’t want to be convicted.
Thus, the problem continues, the apathy grows, and we find ourselves saying, "I don’t understand why the world is so bad."
It’s because no one takes a stand!
In the Bible, God asked the prophet Ezekiel to deliver a message to the people of Israel. They had been disobedient and had sat back and watched as very ungodly things were being done. It greatly grieved the Lord, and because of it, he was going to bring judgment upon them.
In Ezekiel 22:30, The Lord tells Ezekiel, "I looked for someone among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found no one."
Wow. There was no one! In all the land, there was no one who would stand up, live righteously, and represent God. I can’t tell you enough, how much that should scare us as Christians, to know that God seeks someone to take a stand and fill in the gap on his behalf. The people of Israel took the "fast trolley" only to receive a swift and harsh judgment from God.
Turning away and "passing the buck" to someone else was not acceptable to God, and it should not be to us either! When you are called, listen. And when you are commanded, do it. Stand up and fill in the gap!
