Luke 19:2-4 (NLT) [bible-link v=”luke+19%3A2-4&version=NLT” c=”light”]
There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way.
Those that know me well enough, know that I am yet to fully embrace all of the technological advancements of the 21st Century. If you have ever seen me preach, I’ll always use an iPad but I’ll also have my paper copy (just in case). Technology is great when it works.
As mankind has quickly transcended into the digital age in the last decade, we have ample information at our finger tips and at the push of a button, I can communicate with someone in another hemisphere.
But for all our progress, I wonder at the cost paid. Have we lost the art of connecting and conversation? We seem to know all about each other from our online presence, but we don’t actually know each other. We can send a friend request instead of introducing ourselves face to face.
It’s amazing what happens when we have proximity to someone. We can easily assume a whole lot about a person through an email, a text or even pictures. Often when we have distance we can see things through a distorted lens. But when we have proximity we have a new perspective on people and community.
Many people’s perspectives changed about Jesus when their proximity changed. This was true for Zacchaeus.
My encouragement to all of us throughout this ‘Together’ series and in 2020, is to rediscover the art of conversation and connection by resisting the urge to remain at a distance. People and community are so much better in real life than on a screen.
