Stand in the Gap

Trevor Peterson 1992

In the dawn of creation, before the sun or moon; before the earth, the sea, the sky; before matter; before energy; even before the morning stars sang together and all his sons shouted for joy there was El. In the absence of space, I AM; in the void before times beginning, I AM; though all else we know today was not, I AM; when heaven and earth shall pass away, I AM; though the mountains should fall, the earth burn to ash, the stars extinguish, and all things fade, the timeless, invincible Word shall remain, I AM. And in that time before time, all of historys great expanse was formed and known in His mind: The successes, the failures, the dreams, the disappointments, the joys, the sorrows, the pleasures, the torments, the beginning, and the end. Yet, of all ever to walk this planet, One would stand alone as the greatest; One Whose story concerns the whole of mankind; One Who was, is, and always shall be the Lord of all. This is not His story. His is written on the hearts of people all over the world; it is etched in the core of the earth; it is painted across the sky night and day; all creation tells His story. He taught in word and in life that to become king, one must rst be a servant; to be above all men, one must be below all men. This is the story of a servant; a servant of El and a servant of men. His life is given that he may serve, without recognition, without reward, without rest; he works until the day shall end. I remember that rst day vividly: it was a warm, sunny, midsummer afternoon. There was a slight breeze that prevented the weather from becoming uncomfortable, and from all appearances it would be a perfect evening as well. It was one of those days that just seem to drive away all worries, all troubles, all fears. A day when anguish and sorrow are easily forgotten. I felt like reaching out and thanking the whole world for that short season 1

of contentment. If anyone had asked, I would never have guessed that day would turn out as it did. I was sitting on my lawn, just basking in the ecstasy of life and hoping nothing important would come up, when I saw him. He was slightly below average height, stocky, and had a full but well-kept beard. What seized my attention, however, was his clothing. If he had been dressed like someone from the twentieth century, that would have been odd enough, but his appearance resembled that of a medieval warrior without armor. Judging from his cloak and boots, he had traveled far and long on foot. He carried a walking stick and a sword, and he looked so out of place that I immediately felt sorry for him. As he walked by, I called out and asked him if he would like to stop and rest for a moment. He halted midstep, turned in my direction, and while scrutinizing me, began to speak: You are the one! But for you, this city would be no more. The wrath of the Self-existent One is kindled against this place of perversion and evil. Arrogance and idolatry are plagues upon its inhabitants. All are given over wholly to a deception of the Enemy. This city has become an abode of demons and their wicked lth. You alone are free of servitude to them, but even you are bound for darkness and despair. I was shocked. I had never heard anyone talk that way. I knew it was a deception, but everyone agreed that the way a person lived was his own business and that there was no absolute standard of right and wrong. No one would even think of discrediting a persons actions to his face, let alone telling him he was perverted. After taking a few seconds to recover, I realized the stranger was still studying my face, and it was making me uncomfortable. I had already asked him to stop and rest, so I tried to change the subject, hoping he would forget about what he had said. What business did he have talking about the residents of our city like that anyway? I asked him if he would like something to drink. His reply was almost worse than the rst time he spoke. You oer me something to slake my thirst, but how long will it last? Have you found anything eternally satisfying in this world? When the Selfexistent One Himself came to earth, He oered living water that would never dry up and would always satisfy. Do you want to be content? Do you want to know what your purpose is in this life? Do you want to know the reasons that things are the way they are? Are you searching for truth, fulllment, reality? You will only nd peace in Him. This time I was speechless. I suddenly realized that what this Self-existent 2

One had to oer was everything I had been looking for. I asked him what he meanthow could I nd the truth? My Lord said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Follow me, and I will show you how to follow Him. I needed to hear no more. I immediately got to my feet and followed. We walked for quite some time in silence. I had plenty of time to think, but never once did I ask myself what I thought I was doing, following this madman. Instead, I considered my life: all my accomplishments, my dreamsthey all seemed so foolish and irrelevant. My life had been empty, searching for fulllment and only nding more emptiness. This wanderer, crazy as he seemed, had something I was missing, and I wanted to nd out what it was. I had been raised in the most advanced city on earth. All technology, ideas, styles, trends, and anything else that aected the course of the world originated in that city. To live there was to be at the pinnacle of civilization. I had always been so proud of my home, but as I thought about what the stranger had said, I realized he was right. I had known it all along, but I had been afraid to believe, afraid that it was I who was wrong. It had always seemed so confusing to me that the greatest city in the world had the most perversion and violence. I had thought that there was something wrong if success, as we measure it, went along with such problems. I was wakened from my contemplating by the change in environment; we had walked from the suburbs to the heart of the business district. The skyscrapers, built taller than in any other city, almost blocked all sunlight from the streets below. As we continued, I realized my companion had no intention of stopping in that section, and we passed into the one part of the city you would not nd in the travel brochures. In the greatest metropolis on earth were found the worst slums. It was a blemish that no mayor had ever been able to wipe out. Every possible solution had been attempted, even concealing the problem, but nothing had worked. All that could be done was to avoid that area. Nevertheless, it was there that we stopped. I took the opportunity to advise my acquaintance: This is the worst place on earth; surely we wont nd the Self-existent One here! His reply t what I had now come to expect of him: Then it is here that we must bring the Lord. The Light shines most brightly in greatest darkness. I knew better than to argue, so we continued on, this time more slowly. 3

As we met the residents of that place, I was amazed at his unhesitating willingness to speak to them or even to touch them. Some had wounds and sicknesses which he seemed to heal; some needed clothing, and each time he would take o something of his own to give them, but he never ran out. He simply spoke to some, but what he said always made them feel better. I knew I was experiencing something foreign, but it was not until later that I discovered it was love. I had heard mention of it, but until that day I had never seen it. As evening passed and nightfall came on he nally turned to leave, and I once again spoke to him. What was the purpose of all this? I said. The Lord spoke of three things we must do to follow Him. We must love Him with everything in us; we must love others as ourselves; and we must tell all people about His love for us. And that was love? That was love. How do we love the Lord? We live the way He wants us to. But there is something else that makes the second command unnecessary. When He was here, the Lord told of His coming return, when all people will be judged. He explained that when we show love to the least of His brothers, we show it to Him. He also said that when we do not show love to the least of His brothers, we do not show it to Him. How do we know that He loves us? I ventured to ask. You have now come to the heart of the matter. Wait, and you will hear the answer tonight. By this time we had reached Main Street, where the bars, casinos, theaters, stores, and every form of street entertainment imaginable were gathered together. Everybody who was anybody went there on Saturday night, making the ordinarily crowded conditions twice as bad. I thought to myself, well probably keep right on walking, just as before; he certainly would not want to hang around here. Of course I was wrong, as usual. As we arrived near the center of all the activities, my companion began to speakloudly. He had a way of manipulating his voice so that his tone said as much as his words, and at that time his tone was meant to draw attention. He began with some philosophical jargon about lifes meaning and the importance of eternity, mostly to get peoples attention. Then he began what seemed to be a delayed answer to my last question. 4

From the popular point of view, every man is entitled to his own opinion, and no single idea is necessarily more correct than the others. I tell you this, however, that there is absolute truth, and that it centers around the Selfexistent One, the Creator of the universe, rst known as El, meaning God in the vernacular of His people. The greatest truth in all the world is that He loved us enough to face the punishment we deserve for our wickedness. By this act, he gave us the chance to be free from death. Oh, our bodies still must die, but our souls can live forever with the Lord. At this point, the crowd began to react. Some mocked him and left, others stayed to continue jeering, and still others seemed interested. The wanderer continued his speech: Thousands of years ago, the Self-existent One came to earth as a human. He did not come as a king, or a priest, or even a soldier. He came as a carpenter-teacher, and those who listened and obeyed found peace. There were many who rejected Him. They feared that He would take away their power, so His own people executed Him. It would seem a simple end for the Creator of all that is, but the story does not end there. Two days later He broke the power of death and walked out of his grave. He appeared to His followers for the next forty days and ascended into Heaven while they watched. You simply must believe that He paid your price and commit your lives to Him. The crowd suddenly went insane. They beat him repeatedly and senselessly, kicking and punching, ripping out his hair. The police eventually arrived and broke up the mob, leaving the wanderer in the street. I ran to him, felt for a pulse, and despaired at nding none. I didnt know what to do, but I felt an urge to talk to the Lord. I didnt know if He could hear me, but I shouted at the top of my lungs. I was heedless of those around me. I confessed my pride, my rebellion, everything I could think of that I thought would oend Him. I then asked Him to give me unending life and committed myself to Him. I asked for healing for the stranger, and as I prayed, I realized that more than anything, the city needed healing, so I asked for that. I asked for pity on the entire world in its rejection of El. I asked for everything I could think of and then simply thanked Him. I dont know how long I stood there yelling, but when I nished, I looked down at the huddled body at my feet and loved him. For the rst time in my life, I loved another person. I loved him for his dedication, his courage, and even his oddities. It was then that I saw him move. Though I thought it was an illusion of the ashing lights, I hurried to turn him over, and as I did, he rose to his feet. There wasnt a bruise on his body! Without a 5

word, he began to walk, and as he walked, I followed. We walked through the downtown area, through the suburbs, out into the countryside. We continued to walk for another kilometer or two and stopped. The wanderer turned to me and spoke quietly: You are the one! As long as one believer remains in this city it will continue, but if ever it loses all faithful ones, the wrath of God will be poured out seven times what it would have been. Now go back, and obey the third command. Without another word, he turned and walked away. I have never seen him since, but I am constantly reminded of him, whenever I see a believer wholly committed to the Lord. In a way I guess this story was about the Son of God, but isnt every believer a representative of Him? How well do you portray your Lord?