Walking past a car recently there was a text transfer sign on the rear which read, perhaps not verbatim, ‘ you are so close behind you might as well get in’. I chuckled quietly to myself because I have muttered similar words to myself when driving. Perhaps most drivers have at some time.

I have been a passenger and heard the driver muttering ‘your side of the road is just as good’. In fact there was one memorable occasion when I said to a passenger in my car ‘there is a hugger mugger coming up behind us’. This meant somebody coming up very fast. The comment from my passenger was, ‘you mean some silly b……..!’ Well, be that as it may, the first example needs no explanation. Tailgaters are not popular especially when they begin flashing their lights or generally making their feelings known. We, of course, are perfect drivers!

People get up close and personal on all kinds of occasions, pushing to get tickets which are limited. Perhaps trying to grab something from a bargain rail, even worse is the rush hour on the London Underground as passengers try and force themselves into an already crammed carriage.

The common element is, of course, that the people are so close that they have a huge desire or motive for wanting to make it all the way.

It made me think of people who attend church, any church. People attend for a variety of reasons which I shall not go into here. Some may attend for a long time becoming very involved in the fellowship and ‘talk the talk’ but never quite make it all the way. By that I mean they never quite make it to the baptismal pool or a public confession of faith, are they so close they might as well get in or do they not have that urge to go all the way up to the front door of Jesus?

Pam