Have you ever thought about your personal theology? The things that we believe in most should shape our lives the most. While theology is the study of God, the practice of our theology in our lives should affect us every day.
As I have embraced the theology of being on mission, of being sent, it has led me to embrace a new practical theology. I call it the theology of proximity. This is not a term I have heard before. It is a concept God has driven into my soul.
We must embrace a theology of proximity. You cannot help people who are far from God find their way back to God if you are far from them. I wrote those words in an earlier chapter. I want to spend some time on them here as they apply to the idea of relationship.
When I first became a Christ follower, I had great zeal to share Christ. I began carrying our large family bible with me to high school. I got my hands on several tracts – the kind who basically said “you are headed to hell without Jesus” – and began to hand them out. I would talk to anyone, anywhere about Christ. I tried my hand at going door to door to share my faith. I was crazy enough to try anything to share the good news.
I was operating with the idea that the gospel story is mostly informational – and believed that if I could just get the information to people that Jesus loved them they would respond immediately and follow Christ.
I was totally missing the idea the gospel needs to be relational before it is informational.
This is the idea of proximity.
My successes in sharing my faith did not come in those first eager efforts to share the information of the gospel. My successes in sharing my faith came as those around me saw the difference Christ was making in my life and how He was changing my character because they were in relationship with me.
This is proximity.
This is relationship.
This is incarnation.
Jesus invited the disciples to follow Him, to do life with Him, to spend time with Him, and in the process, to eventually believe in Him. They had relationship with Him before they had salvation from Him. They were drawn to His life before they were able to accept His message.
Here is the radical truth. No one cares about what you know about God until they see God at work in you and through you. No one is drawn to your words about God until they are first drawn to the life of God in you. No one wants your Jesus until they first want the life they see that you have.
It is all about proximity.
Jesus said it this way:
“You are the light of the world – like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:14-16
Our lives must shed light for those around us to find their way back to God. No light being shed means no one finding their way. Light demands proximity. You have to get close to the light.
I have pastor friends who pastor downtown churches but want to live in the suburbs. They do not understand missional proximity.
I have other friends who want to see their neighbors come to Christ but do not want to invest the time and energy in building relationships with them. They do not have relational proximity.
Still others want to make a difference at work, but choose instead to simply do their jobs and not get involved in any of the mess at the office. You cannot be used by God to change lives from a distance. It takes proximity.
Jesus became one of us. He came into our world. He moved into the messy neighborhood that is humanity and He set up shop. He lived among us. He practiced proximity. The One who was God laid aside his Deity and became one of us. This is the essence of mission. It is not living in the suburbs and driving in to do ministry and then driving home. It is not wanting your neighbors to come to faith but not taking the time to do life with them. It is not wanting to make a difference in the workplace but deciding to avoid the mess.
As I am writing these words, I am sitting on my couch. There is a football game going on the TV although the sound is down. I have on my Saturday morning stay at home shorts and shirt that I would never wear in public. The computer is in my lap. My iced tea glass is close by. My phone is on silent. My wife is out running errands.
I am thoroughly and completely in “leave me alone so I can get my work done” mode.
Except for one thing. Our orange tabby kitten that we got from the pet shelter has found me and jumped onto the couch and taken up residence in my lap.
Have you ever tried to write with a kitten draped across your arms demanding to be loved?
Everything in me wants to shoo the cat away. Everything within me is screaming “you don’t have time for the dang cat.” But the cat does not know this. The cat thinks I exist to love him night and day. I see the cat as a distraction I want to avoid. The cat sees me as an opportunity for an encounter and some affection.
Do you see where this is going?
I can see my talkative neighbor as a distraction – or as an opportunity for a divine encounter.
I can see the office mess as something to avoid – or I can wade in with love and care.
I can see the world around me as a hassle – or as my mission field.
There is no way to be used by God to see lives changed without getting involved.