Then Queen Esther answered, “Spare my people—this is my request.” (Est. 7:3)
Expanded Passage: Esther 7:3-10
One morning Margaret McCollum made her way to one of London’s train stations, not to board a train, but to listen to the recorded voice of her late husband that warned passengers to “Mind the gap.” Suddenly, a voice rang out, but it was not her husband’s. Hastily, she approached an employee and asked, “Where’s the voice?” Initially confused, the employee realized the voice she was referring was the recently replaced voice of her husband. Moved by Margaret’s story they reinstated her husband’s voice so she could once again sit and listen to him warn passengers to mind the gap.
Like travelers in London, the church is called to mind the gap that has been created by Christ’s advents—the first advent being his birth and the second his long-awaited return. Minding something means to care for it. Caring for something is demonstrated by Queen Esther when she stood up for those who could not stand up for themselves, an idea that was built into the DNA of The Wesleyan Church. Consider Adam Crooks, who left Ohio to become pastor of Freedom’s Hill, the abolitionist congregation in North Carolina. Just like Esther, he put himself in a precarious position to help save the lives of those who were in danger as they escaped slavery. Now take a moment to reflect: Are there people that God is calling us to stand up for?
Ask God to help you see those who may need help.
T. J. Albertson has been pastoring for twenty-one years, the last nineteen in interchurch service. He loves teaching the whole Bible and its relevance to life.
© 2026 Wesleyan Publishing House. Reprinted from Light from the Word. Used by permission. Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.
