If you were to see my copy of Theirs is the Kingdom, you would turn to this excerpt and find a sea of black ink marking up the page. This section hit the nail on the head about relationships.
“Efficiency- the capacity to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, or materials.
There is something inside me that makes me smile when I see a well-run operation: phones answered professionally, details observed, appointments kept promptly, systems flowing with logical consistency. The competent execution of a well-designed plan is a thing of beauty for me. My love of efficiency is woven inextricably into the fabric of my personality.
Recently the staff of Family Consultation Service discussed relocating our offices. Our two rooms in a small urban church are seriously overcrowded. A constant stream of kids, church folks, and people from the community make it increasingly difficult to perform necessary administrative tasks. Some days seem like one continuous interruption. “It's impossible to get any work done in the office,” I say to Peggy in frustration. It violates my sense of responsibility to see my desk piled high with unanswered correspondence, unopened mail, and the notes from unreturned phone calls.
My efficiency-loving mind tells me the solution is in the system. I envision a building away from church traffic. It has ample office space, phones, and meeting rooms. We are centralized under one roof instead of operating out of homes and cars and brief cases. We better coordinate our communication and cut down on impromptu drop-ins. And I get some work done.
Work? What is my work? Is organizational efficiency really the bottom line? Should a clean desk and a balanced financial report by the fifth of the month be my priority? Is my job well done when my schedule book clicks with precision and the minutia of details are carefully covered? This would satisfy my need for order and control, but what about the kingdom of God?
The fundamental building blocks of the kingdom are relationships. Not programs, systems, or productivity. But inconvenient, time-consuming, intrusive relationships. The kingdom is built on personal involvements that disrupt schedules and drain energy. When I enter into redemptive relationships with others, I lose much of my “capacity to produce desired results with a minimum expenditure of energy, time, money, or materials.” In short, relationships sabotage my efficiency. A part of me dies. Is this perhaps what our Lord meant when he said we must lay down our lives for each other?
If efficiency is a value in God's kingdom, surely it has a different definition. The one who orchestrates history doesn't seem to be in a hurry. God doesn't seem to need closure at the end of each day. Perhaps if one has an eternity in which to accomplish one's work, it's not so important to handle every urgent detail that arises. Kingdom efficiency must have an eternal perspective.
How then can we earthbound ones evaluate our own level of kingdom efficiency? Obedience is the only trustworthy measure I have found. I know I am called to love people and, in a special sense, poor people. Since it is impossible to schedule their calamities, I must remain open to their interruptions. The seductive appeal of order would draw me away from my call. God's peace must be learned in the midst of disturbance. Disruptions are his reminders that people are more important than programs and that the ordering of my life is his business. Perhaps in the disarray of human relationships he will reveal the true meaning of efficiency.”
-Excerpt from the book “Theirs is the Kingdom: Bringing the Gospel to Urban America,” by Lupton
One thing that has been reinforced over and over again on the race is that relationships are vital to life, and that relationships are messy. Real, life giving relationships are an investment of time, love, tears, toil, and a range of other emotions. Without real relationships, our lives would be lonely, monotonous, and empty. But with real relationships, we find joy, life, meaning, and something beyond ourselves. Yes, this comes with interruptions at inconvenient times, messy emotions, and even hurt feelings at times. But this is what we live for. To relate to others, to find life with others, to experience.
God created us as relational beings, not to live under a rock by ourselves. Being in relationship to other people means putting ourselves out there, being vulnerable, and also reaching out to touch other lives through those relationships.
During just the first three months of the World Race, I have been challenged to open up. To be vulnerable. To use my voice. To step out into uncomfortable situations to build relationships and share the love of Christ. And while it has been messy at times, and emotions run high, there has never been more freedom and more life left in its wake.
I am finally finding more of my voice.
I am finally stepping out and relating with people, sharing the love of Christ whenever I can, in whatever situation I can. Whether that means praying for a team mate in a hard time, or talking to someone random on a bus, or sharing a word that God has laid on my heart, it brings so much life.
I challenge you to let God interrupt you today. Let him interrupt your life and show you how you can share your love and life through relationships with others. I promise, in the end, life and light will shine through.
