Wasp

Ephesians 6:10-13 – Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (ESV)

I work in an old Victorian building, built in 1849, that has been annexed by a newer twenty-first-century one. There are connecting corridors with associated stairs to the new rooms.

During the construction of the upper bridge between buildings, I guess the builders used scaffolding to provide a platform for the bricklayers to work. In the brickwork, they left these small spaces at regular intervals along the wall, where the scaffold poles once fitted. No harm in that, I guess, because I have seen this phenomenon many times elsewhere on newer constructions.

One corridor I use regularly has an outer wall, made of metal RSJs (rolled steel joists) and sheet glass on the external side. Recently, on my way through, I glanced out of one of these panes at the adjoining building, perpendicular to the corridor. There, hovering about the brickwork, I noticed a wasp.

This wasp suddenly disappeared into one of these gaps. Maybe there is a nest in there already; maybe not? I wondered about how hard it would to be to extract this interloper, and any future fellow conspirators, from a four-by-one-half-inch entry hole which is in a corridor bridge over twenty feet above the ground! Moreover, this was all just because someone had not filled in the mortar pointing properly with the appropriate plastic blanks made for the job!

I pondered what blanks are missing in my life that have left old gaps unfilled. Do we have any old memories, thoughts, and actions that have, as yet, not been captivated by Christ? Any kink in our kingdom-of-God armour could one day let in a lot more than we first bargained for — unless we lay it down at the feet of Jesus today and allow Him to fill in the blanks!

Prayer: Lord, by Your grace, forgive us our weakness and open our eyes to the gaps we have in our lives. We rejoice that You have died and risen again to make open the way to Your forgiveness, loving-kindness, and salvation. In the name of Jesus, we humbly ask You to strengthen our resolve and to fill in the gaps in our thoughts and hearts that are not a part of Your will for our lives today. Amen.

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