Just like there are things one can do while traveling to minimize the symptoms of jet-lag, there are also steps one can take in life that significantly reduce the effects of heart-lag. All you need to do is keep one word at the center of your mind: safety.
People who are safety-conscious tend to do a risk analysis, albeit subconscious at times, before involving themselves in any given activity. They constantly consider what the potential cost may be to them and if that cost will result in a positive or negative impact on all those involved. Therefore, it stands to reason that if we keep safety at the center of our minds and hearts during times of service and ministry, we’ll probably be less likely to involve ourselves with people in such a way that would lead to pain or sadness in parting afterwards.
Think about it. It really could be done, right? We could still minister to people, seeking to touch their lives, but do so from an arm’s length away. We could keep our minds focused on plans and goals, seeking to carry out our mission successfully, but make sure we do so with as little emotional liability as possible. This would indeed be safer.
We could still relate to people, but make sure those relationships are based on and centered on our terms. We’d have a biblically-based agenda, and we’d do our best to carry it out to completion. If I’m to preach, I preach and do the best I can, and leave it at that. If I’m to serve, I serve to the best of my abilities, and end it there. If I’m to counsel or advise, I collect whatever information is necessary for me to understand the situation, then respond biblically based upon what I heard. Done. In all these cases, the goals could be reached – safely reached.This is safety-centered ministry. It’s seeking to serve God and others from a safe distance so as not to grow close to people too fast, too soon, or too deeply. We safely conceal ourselves behind the Bible, our teachings, our plans and our purposes, and bring people closer to these things instead of closer to ourselves.
So…what do you think? Ready to sign up?
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Before you decide, let’s consider something from the Word of God. John 15:12 tells us that we’re to love people as Christ loved people. This means I’m to typify the love Christ has for people in the way I love others. If I look at how Jesus loved and seek to emulate that, I’m in good shape. Of course I’ll never do as well as He did, but I’ll at least be on the right track.
Question…
…did Jesus love “safely?” Think about it. If you look at the many ways Jesus expressed His love for people, did He do so in a safe manner?
Was “safety” on Jesus’ mind when He touched lepers with His very own healing hand?
Was “safety” on Jesus’ mind when He blew people away with His preaching in the Sermon on the Mount?
Was “safety” a concern of Jesus’ when He dared to speak to a Samaritan woman?
Most importantly, how much did Jesus regard “safety” when it came to the cross? Jesus knew His back would be marred beyond recognition long before the whip met his flesh, and He knew exactly what He’d feel as his back rubbed up against the bark of a tree. He knew all of this long before it happened. He knew just where the nails would enter His palms and feet. He knew the exact nerve-endings that would react to the thorns piercing His brow.
How could One do such good deeds in life, and pay such a price in death, if safety were of utmost importance to Him? He couldn’t! He wouldn’t! Praise God that we don’t have a safety-conscious Savior! Instead of reading of His hesitation in dying for sinners, we read of the joy that filled His heart to endure such a penalty on our behalf (Hebrews 12:2).
Perhaps this is why immediately following Christ’s command for us to love like He loved is His reminder to us that there is no greater love than for one to lay down his life for another (John 15:13). What could be more opposed to safety than death? And Christ tells us that this very thing - for one to lay down his life for another - this most unsafe thing is the epitome of love between two persons.
I believe heart-lag is indicative that one has not loved “safely,” but has loved vulnerably. It shows that one did not consider firstly the cost of pouring themselves into relationships, but instead saw what could be bought for that price. It shows that relationships—even Gospel-centered relationships—although messy at times, are definitely a mess worth making. It’s not only a mess worth making, but a mess worth wallowing in for the glory of God.
May the Word of God and the example set for us by our Savior cause us to rethink the phrase “safety first” when it comes to ministry and relationships for the sake of the Gospel.
Much love,
~ Peter
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