Proximity

We have a cockatiel living at our house, the obsession of our youngest. While it’s cute and cuddly in her hands, it’s given me more understanding of where the term “bird brained” comes from. This little ball of feathers is only happy when someone is in the room with it and will chirp incessantly until someone obligingly enters the room. It was cute, at first. 

The other day, Makayla and I took advantage of the nice weather to get in one last warm bike ride. I have a familiar route that usually involves a visit to the duck pond, which is incentive enough to prompt my bird-loving daughter to join me.

As we crossed the street and wheeled off towards the park, I heard the first of many exclamations. “Wait for me, wait for me!” I was only 10 feet ahead, but that felt too far for her. In a few moments, she was laughing and zooming past me, yelling back, “Come on, Dad, hurry up!” Back and forth she went, “Slow down,” “Hurry up!” In truth, I kept pretty much the same pace the whole way to the duck pond, and at some point we found our pace, riding side by side. That’s how we roll, that’s when we talk. It’s all about proximity.

I’ve been thinking about one of my favorite disciples lately—Andrew. He seemed to have a thing about proximity. In John 1 we find him, unnamed, following closely the ministry of John the Baptist, who was preaching and baptizing at the edge of the Jordan River. Now, Andrew came from a family of fishermen on the north shores of the Sea of Galilee in Bethsaida. What would have drawn him to the south of the country near Jericho? What pulled him to leave family business responsibilities to follow a prophetic preacher in the wild regions of the Judean desert?

Rumor had it that a fiery prophet of a man, John the Baptist, had risen in Israel, baptizing and declaring messianic hope. Those with itchy ears, like Andrew, yearned to know. Early adopters are always like that; they need to see for themselves. Appetites aren’t satisfied until they’ve heard it from the source. Seeing is believing, after all. I can relate.

And so it was; no one said the things that John was saying, anticipation and preparation was building. So when John said, “Look…the Lamb of God, the One I’ve been telling you about,” Andrew immediately took notice, left John and began following Jesus. No introduction, no interview, no words exchanged, just the insatiable need to get near the Hope of God.

"I will be with you always...
even to the end of the age."

Proximity is everything.

I love Jesus’ inquiry as they began to follow behind: “What do you want?”

And I love Andrew’s answer. “Teacher, where are you staying?” Essentially, where you are is where I want to be.

With a twinkle and smile Jesus says, “Come and see.” So, they did, spending the rest of the day with Him. “Everything John said about this man was true,” he must have thought. With a heart bursting with conviction, he immediately set out to get his older brother, Peter, who was probably 65 miles away fishing. Upon finding him he said, “Come quick, we found the Messiah!!”

Eventually, Peter would figure prominently in the ministry of Jesus, but it was Andrew who first drew near. Jesus affects you like that. While it’s true that any situation has the potential to change one, none can so utterly transform a life than one genuinely touched by Jesus. 

“Wait for me, wait for me,” that little voice said. But as a father, I heard, “I want to be with you, near you, I want to go with you.”

“Come on, then” I said, as she quickly caught up and peddled past, laughing. I knew we’d eventually find our pace of talking and riding.

All of Jesus’ friends would be guilty of lagging behind (asleep in the garden, Peter’s denial) or running ahead at times (think Peter with his sword, James and John calling down fire). They falter over and over again to keep step with Jesus as He walked on, and when they couldn’t, Jesus drew near. That nearness made all the difference, even when life didn’t make sense. 

The promise of God is not always to save or deliver us out of trials, but to be with us through them. Therefore, it should be our ambition to not lag behind orget out in front of Him. 

Have you ever noticed that Jesus was never late or in a hurry for anything as He went about life on the earth? It was in these unhurried times that He filled his friends’ hearts and minds with himself. When the unimaginable happened and their lives were turned upside down, He told them, “I will be with you always, even to the end of the age.” The promise of proximity brings courage and peace in any situation, if you let it touch you. 

Andrew was a seeker, doing what it took to be near the Source. Know any Andrews? Do as they do.

Warm conversation was had on the way to the duck pond that day, rhythm was found, anxiety was loosed. Something similar happens for a jittery cockatiel when I simply come into the room.

Is anxiety chirping? Are you living in “Wait for me!” or “Hurry up!”? Maybe it’s time to relax in the promise of proximity, even when things seem upside down. Living and experiencing His nearness makes all the difference.

But as for me, the nearness of God is my good… (Psalm 73:28)