The Lie of the 10 Foot Pole

Johnson, Chris. Bamboo Selection. 2022

Digital using Midjourney AI

Maybe you can relate to this one: Shame. Guilt. Feelings of emptiness. Sadness and anger. As a result, chances are there has developed a wall between you and God. And that's when we start to say that phrase we so often come back to.

I'VE ALWAYS SAID, "GOD WOULDN'T TOUCH ME WITH A TEN FOOT POLE."

It has something to do with the way we were raised, I suppose. Because we think that we know who we are and we assume we know who God is. He's all good and we simply aren't. Plus, we've seen the rule modeled in our communities and we've watched it play out in our lives. We know that there is a thick barrier of segregation keeping "the haves" from the "have nots" and the "high quality" from the "average."

SOCIETY HAS A RULE, "GOOD FOLKS DON'T INTERACT WITH BAD FOLKS."

But here's the catch... the message we’ve heard couldn't be further from the truth. Genesis 3:9 paints a picture of God in search for those who would reject him. He is seeking after his people, no matter what choices they have made. And while our actions towards God often have consequences that reinforce God's greatness in light of our failing, he still desires to connect with us. 

GOD WAS NAILED TO THE TEN FOOT POLE.

The Bible paints a very different picture of God from that which we tend to hold to. Rather than rejecting us, God finds us, meets us, and sacrifices himself for us. 2 Corinthians 5:21 says it well, "God made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in him." The cross is where we crucify the lie of God's inability to connect to humanity.

THROW OUT THE LIE OF THE TEN FOOT POLE.

The world becomes a better place when we start to judge life by the standards of God. Let's lose the prejudice and let's abandon the insecurity. God is seeking after us. He wants to connect. What's keeping him from doing so? (Luke 15)