Departing Lima I had my first look at the Andes Mountains, courtesy of an insane, yet kind, flash of Shane’s generosity. He thought he wanted to sit on the aisle and offered to trade seats with me for the flight. (Thanks, hermano!) I’ve seen mountains when I’ve gone camping in North Carolina, but never have I looked down on any mountains. While marveling at God’s awesome creation, the song “From A Distance” popped into my head.
I remember a controversy about a line in the song—“God is watching us from a distance”. Some people feel this implies that God doesn’t care about us because He is portrayed as being “at a distance”, like He can’t see us. I prefer to picture God as a parent at the park watching a child play. He allows us to experience our independence in our lives, but we can be secure in the knowledge that He is nearby to protect and comfort us if we fall. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus tells the disciples (and us) “Lo, I am with you always.” Like most children, we tend to get absorbed in our “playing”, and may wander off and get “lost”. Thankfully, our Parent has been keeping an eye on us the entire time and comes to our rescue.
It just makes sense. From the plane, I could barely see roads and buildings on the mountains. I definitely could not see any people. In order to see the people and know what they are doing, I would have to be a lot closer. In order for God to know everything about us, He has to be close too. So, yes, God is watching us from a distance. A short distance.
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