Getting Close

The incarnation, it seems to me, is the central mystery of the Christian faith.  Certainly the atonement and the resurrection are incredibly profound in their implications, but the idea that the God of the Universe, eternally existing in Spirit, chooses to lower Himself to the level of His creation, limiting Himself to the confines of the flesh, subjecting Himself to the race that He had spoken into being... words fail as I think about how unbelievable it all is.  God with skin on--Jesus of Nazareth, the carpenter from down the street.

He came close to us.  Became one of us.  Got dirty right alongside of us.  Breathed our air, smelled our scents, battled our appetites.  He dealt with difficult people just like you and I do--in fact, He was ultimately killed by them.  He grew and developed.  The eternal, all-knowing God of the Universe learned.  I'm not sure that I understand how all of that works, and I don't have to get too far in my series of questions before my theology is shot full of holes and my brain is bordering on combustion.  God... as a man.

In order to reach us, He got close to us.  He became one of us.

He didn't shout from afar.  He didn't send divine shoe boxes from heaven.  He didn't proclaim the good news on the radio.  He didn't write a blog.  All of those things may have their place, but that's not the method the Almighty God of the Universe chose.  Instead, He came close.  He got right next to us, lived alongside of us, and ultimately, He was trusted enough that He only needed whisper the Truth and it was understood and believed.

The question I'm wrestling with is: To whom am I that close?  Is my gospel proclaimed from afar, or am I right there in the middle of everything, living in the midst of those who desperately need to know?  Often, I find myself stating with my words and intellect that I am called to reach a certain person, or certain population of people, or certain kind of person.  However, an honest life evaluation would say that those I'm closest to are exactly like me.  I long to reach people with the gospel, but I'm barely near enough to shout, let alone understand their pain and their joy in order to help them understand and know the Truth.

The apostle Paul said it this way: 

"For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them.  To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews.  To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law.  To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law.  To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.  I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.  I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings." (1 Corinthians 9:19-23)

My testimony, sadly, sounds different:

"Since I'm free, I'm kind of busy with my own stuff right now, that I might enjoy my freedom more.  To the culturally religious I don't become anything--rather, I tend to mock them.  To the hyper-religious, I don't become anything--rather, I tend to mock them, too.  To the pagan, I don't become anything--yep, you guessed it--I tend to mock them too.  I think maybe I have a problem with cynicism.  And sometimes, if I'm honest, I'm a little jealous.  To the weak, downtrodden, suffering, poor and sick, I basically just live in my health and comfort and hope someone does something about their lot in life.  All of this I do for my own sake, because I'm pretty important, at least to me."

Jesus got close to us.  He could understand where we were coming from, because He was coming from there as well.  He got right down next to us... and loved us.  

Seems that I should probably follow His example.