My early years created interesting motivations in my life journey. On one hand, I had a sense that I would never measure up. Life seemed stacked against me. We moved around a lot making it difficult for me to get traction socially or to be successful in my endeavors involving sports, education, or music. I was a late bloomer and being four foot eleven inches in early high school put me at a disadvantage. Even the religious culture in which I grew up taught me that a relationship with God was predicated on a level of morality and spirituality that I did not possess.

 

Remember Zacchaeus from Luke? He was a small man, and because of his character as a tax gatherer had a very bad reputation. I wonder if Zacchaeus felt like life was stacked against him? Whatever was going on, he was sure motivated to see this teacher he had heard so much about… Jesus. He searched for Jesus and He came to him: “Come on down Zacchaeus, I’m eating at your place tonight!”

 

I was out for a run recently, listening to worship music on my iPod. I was talking to the Lord, asking why I was feeling distant from Him. I acknowledged that my times with Him had been rushed, and I had been feeling the distance that comes with lack of contact.

 

As I ran, it was as if He replied, “You feel distant from me because you have been relating to me in the third person.”

 

Do you ever find yourself relating to God as “Him,” “He,” “the Lord, “Jesus, the Christ”? These kinds of third person names keep us one step away from real relationship. In the third person, the Lord becomes a proposition or idea—a topic or concept, at arms length.

 

What would it feel like to more frequently relate to God in the second person: “You,” “Jesus,” “Father,” “my God.”  That’s how we relate to our friends and family when we are talking or enjoying their company. A second person relationship with God moves from idea to relationship, from head to heart, from arms length to an intimate walk (or run).

 

Psalm 16:11 says, “You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”

 

What keeps you from relating to God in the second person rather than the third person? Start now, at this moment to move into the presence of “Father,” “Jesus,” “friend.”

 

Remember the two foundational ideas for the Gospel moving into the lives of not-yet-believing people’s lives? 

 

1) Live among – presence

2) Live differently – holiness.

 

Speaking to His Father about His disciples, Jesus said, “I’m not asking you to take them out of the world, but to keep them safe from the evil one. They do not belong to this world any more than I do. Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world” (John 17:15-17, NLT).

 

The Good News of Christ will spread naturally in our world only if we are friends with and walking life with those who are yet to know Christ.

 

In the last post, I talked about being holy, different in a way that reflects the heart of Christ. One of the most striking ways that Christ-followers can show they are different is humbly asking for forgiveness.

 

Several years ago, I had a Bible study with some high school seniors. One night we ended up talking about how we should handle it when we “mess up.” I mentioned to the guys that the six words I had said most to my kids over the past 18 years were, “I’m sorry, will you forgive me?” One of the guys stared at me in disbelief. Later he told me why he was dumb-founded: “My dad has never said those words to me!”

 

Unfortunately it’s not all that uncommon. We live in a world that applauds and encourages the façade of perfection. In reality, this side of heaven, we all have flaws—like plywood under fancy oak veneer.

 

I’ve found that authentically admitting our foibles and weakness is one of the most attractive, “holy” attributes that Christ-followers can exhibit. The non-believing world knows and embraces that they are less than perfect, and long to learn a God-designed way of dealing with that imperfection. If only we as Christ followers were willing to live the same way and be willing to accept one another in our less-than-perfect state.

 

God says, “This is the one I esteem: He who is humble and contrite in spirit, and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2). This means that between now and when we see him face-to-face (1 John 3:2,3) we should strive for holy imperfection, while still longing to be like Him. The world will notice.

 

There are two things that can keep us from being fruitful among our friends who are yet to follow and know Jesus. These two simple ideas are reflected in this passage from Peter, the disciple:

 

“Dear friends, I warn you as ‘temporary residents and foreigners’ to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world” (1 Peter 2:11,12, NLT).

 

Two keys to the Gospel flowing through our lives:

 

1) We live among unbelievers

2) We live differently than those we live among

 

If we err on either of these fronts we will find ourselves unfruitful as conduits of the Good News. For the Gospel to spread in the normal pathways of our lives demands that we be present in our world and that we be set apart from the rest of the pack in terms of our character and “quality of life.”

 

Do you have any friends or family members who are yet to know and follow Christ? Is your life any different than those friends? If your answer to either of these questions is “no” in all likelihood your life isn’t carrying the Good News of Jesus.

Sometimes the shortest distances are the hardest to cross. I’ve often said that the longest 30 yards is the distance between our front door and the front door of our neighbor!

 

Jesus said to his followers, “If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles. Give to those who ask, and don’t turn away from those who want to borrow” (Matthew 5:41-42 NLT). When you consider that the people of Jesus’ day walked everywhere they went, a mile was not a long distance for them. Jesus encouraged us to do the little extra that shows we are different.

 

Sometimes the opportunity to go the extra mile comes from someone who is demanding our attention. But often we’re faced with good opportunities to serve or show kindness that take a bit of sacrifice, extra time, or personal inconvenience.

 

What are the small “distances” we’re asked to travel, some of which take only 10-15 minutes, that show we have feet that carry the Good News of Christ?

 

Where do your feet lead you? Based on the accounts in the Gospels, you would have to imagine that Jesus’ feet were worn, calloused, and often dusty. He walked long paths everywhere He went. He walked more than 80 miles between His home area of Galilee to Jerusalem. He took the dusty road through Samaria, rather than the easier, more lush passages near the Jordan. He walked to the places the religious leaders didn’t go—among those who were not of the approved establishment—across to the Decapolis and to modern day Syria.

 

During a recent trip overseas, I saw some Malaysian friends. They are an incredible couple. He was born into a home that practiced Buddhist traditions, but came to follow Christ in college. From that point on, his feet have carried him many places to serve and bring the Good News of Jesus to others. In fact, he and his wife moved their family to Bangladesh to serve the people of that country, to use their skills to provide education opportunities, and to bring the Good News of Jesus into that desperate country.

 

Isaiah 52:7 says, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’ ”

 

What do your hands say about you? Do your hands transmit pain or comfort? God’s hands communicate compassion and the desire to reach out to us.

 

Leprosy in first century Israel was a cruel disease with no apparent cure. But the disfigurement of a leper’s body was only part of the pain they experienced. Jewish religious rules identified lepers as “unclean” and caused the uncaring isolation of these sick and vulnerable people.

 

A leper came to Jesus one day asking to be healed: “If you are willing, you can make me clean” (Mark 1:40). Jesus didn’t wag a scolding finger, pointing out the leper’s religious mis-steps. Instead, Mark writes, “Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. ‘I am willing,’ he said. ‘Be clean!’ Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured (vs. 41, 42). Touching the leper brought miraculous healing, but it also showed Jesus’ willingness to love the unlovely.

 

How have you used your hands today? Have you used them to hurt or to heal? Have you used them to participate in selfish activity or to help others? How we use our hands reflects how we view the world and whether we are hearing the voice of the Shepherd.

How we use our hands communicates a lot about us. Do you approach life with a clenched fist or with a soft touch? Take some time to notice what people do with their hands.

 

I saw great contrast in the way people used their hands on a recent overseas trip. Once, while walking alongside a busy street, I saw a car brush against a man. The man raised his hand in anger and struck the side of the car. Then, down an alleyway, a young mother held her small infant close to her chest, stroking his soft cheek.

 

What do the hands of God communicate to us? Isaiah 41:13 shows us God’s compassionate approach to those He loves:

 

“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, ‘Do not fear; I will help you.’ ”

 

What in your life today makes you need the compassionate touch of your heavenly Father? Have you reached out your hand today to take hold of His to experience His help?