Distance

Imagine a high school student whose family is a part of a Christian Church. She belongs to a Christian youth group, has only Christian friends, reads only Christian books, and has to attend Christian chapel services, because it is mandatory at the Christian high school she attends. That student can potentially become so anesthetized to Jesus that she is unable to see Jesus as the stunning, dangerous, compelling, subversive, dynamic reality that He is. She has simply sung so many songs about Jesus that the Name has lost its power to provoke and inspire. Her "nearness" can actually produce "distance"...


We must be able to speak about our faith so that hands will be stretched out toward us faster than we can fill them. Do not try to make the Bible relevant. It's relevance is axiomatic...Do not defend God's word, but testify to it...Trust to the Word. It is a ship loaded to the very limits of its capacity...


The first paragraph is from Rob Bell's new book, Love Wins and the second paragraph is from Dietrich Bonhoeffer's writings.


We always skate on the thin ice of being so familiar with the things of God that we take them for granted. Our "nearness" can produce "distance" if we are not careful. Unchecked this familiarity can produce lethargy. Unbridled familiarity can produce a casual attitude toward the things of God.


As serious pilgrims on the journey we must speak about our faith in such a way that people will stretch their hands out faster than we have the ability to fill them. It seems in an age when we strive for relevance, perhaps we should strive for authenticity.


I have met lots of young adults raised in the church that fit Bell's description of the young woman. I have also witnessed a "distance" produced by "nearness" in people of all ages. There are many things I do not know, but I am certain that when we speak of our faith in compelling authentic ways, people of all ages will stretch forth their hands. Distance will be replaced by nearness and true community will be established.


My prayer is simple...let your Kingdom come!