From the Editor
Closing the Gap
STACEY MCKENZIE
Evading Escaping Eve’s Legacy
“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Highs, lows, and challenging seasons are part of every Christian’s journey, but seeing someone walk away from Jesus when they once loved Him dearly is particularly jarring. How does it happen? Every person’s story is unique, but one reason can be the development of a mindset that began in the first humans at the fall: not trusting God’s nature, plans, timing or purposes. In Genesis, the Lord places Adam in the Garden of Eden to care for it and says, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden—except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die” (Genesis 2:16-17, NLT). In Genesis 3, Satan approaches Eve and, after raising questions about God’s instructions, promises her, “You won’t die! … God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5, NLT). In verse 6 (NLT), we are told, “The woman was convinced.”
How can we close the gap so that the evil one cannot make even one suggestion that can take hold of our hearts and draw us away from the Lord? One way is to make sure that in our doing for God we don’t forget to nurture our pure and simple love for Him. He asks His people in Hosea 6:6 (NLT): “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” And in Deuteronomy 11:22b (NLT), Moses encourages them, “Show love to the Lord your God by walking in his ways and holding tightly to him.” Regardless of the nature of our calling or season of life, we are first called into a love relationship where He wants us to bring our whole selves (1 Peter 5:7). It is in unburdening ourselves to Him that we can come away with the patience we need for His answers to come, and receive the comfort we crave when they don’t. And we show love to Him by continually learning about His ways in the Word and relying on the Spirit’s help to keep them (John 14:23). His words supernaturally guard us against temptation, deception, apathy, and ultimately, simply going our own way.
Another way to close the gap is to stay connected to the people whom God graciously introduces to us as sources of encouragement and accountability, in addition to the church family He provides. If we feel we don’t have anyone we can trust with personal challenges, we can ask, and God will respond: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).
The Apostle Paul reminds us that we are in a race—we become careless about it at great cost. Our enemy knows where the weak spots in our armour are and will be only too glad to take advantage of lapses in our faith and judgment to get us permanently off track. But the same power at work in our world to bring the knowledge of Christ to searching hearts is at work to help us stand against the enemy’s schemes once we have come to faith (Ephesians 6:10-11). Keeping in mind the crown we will receive that will last forever, we can make every other goal or disappointment secondary to honouring all of God’s Word in the Spirit’s power.
This article appeared in the July/August/September 2026 issue of testimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2026 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photo © istockphoto.com.