The Truth About Six Feet

This is not another tirade about covid. It is here. It is part of the world we all navigate daily whether we like it not. I pray this space is about exposing lies and inserting truth. Lies come in all shapes, sizes, and packages. They are dressed to deceive. They can appear logical and safe, wise even. We can so easily tell lies and believe lies with no foul intention at all because those lies counterfeit the truth so well. Satan the deceiver is good at his job.

Jesus tells the truth because He is truth. (John 14:6)

The world told us not too long ago to remain six feet apart. Six feet would keep us safe. Six feet would protect others. Just six feet of distance. Yet, I have found those first six feet are a critical piece to the puzzle of life.

Jesus tells us to go into all the world and preach the gospel (Mark 16:15), and no matter where you go to fulfill that commandment and calling upon your life as a Christ-follower, your influence only begins within the first six feet of interaction with another person. Your influence is the first six feet in diameter around you. The six feet in diameter around you at any point in time during your day is your ministry. That is your mission field. It’s within this six feet Jesus broke bread and ate with sinners. It’s within six feet the bleeding woman found healing just touching his cloak. When Christ said, “Let the little children come unto Me (Matthew 19:14),” I’m sure He didn’t stop them at six feet. When He commands us to visit the prisoner and care for orphans and widows, this is done most effectively within the first six feet.

I just feel like it’s important to notice, call out, and debunk the lies our world so gently sells us or plasters to the ground every six feet inside a store.

You see, the devil knows the power of those first six feet. He knows how a hug gives comfort and hope. He knows how learning from someone and with someone side-by-side builds trust, loyalty, and a sense of camaraderie and belonging. To be in someone’s presence is to be seen, to be heard, and to be known. Go look up the term “deep fake” to see just how far the devil has used technology to remove truth from our daily lives. His plan is to isolate, separate, and divide, then attack, steal, kill, and destroy. Just watch any nature channel hunt to understand how separation from the herd leads to death.

Truth is a Person (John 14:6). Truth lives and breathes (Hebrews 4:12). It moves and has substance and purpose (Acts 17:28). Truth touches your soul as physically as a helping hand. Truth can hurt, but usually far less when a healthy relationship is in place. Because truth is a Person and not an idea, it can be observed over time, shared in trusted, intimate spaces, and be held with your own two hands when you read the inerrant words breathed by God Himself in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16-17). All within six feet. To do any of this from a further distance or vantage point, is to be an observer, not someone who experiences. It’s the difference between being a follower in the crowd of Jesus or a disciple of Jesus. If you want to be in the room where it happens, you get up close and personal with the One who makes it all happen.

Not only do I want to be always within six feet of my Jesus, but I also want Him to use me as His hands and feet. I want to be the ambassador for Christ He calls me to be within the six feet of influence He gives me every day (2 Corinthians 5:20). Right now, that six feet mostly touches the lives of the three people living inside these four walls with me. So, I’m asking the Lord to open the eyes of my heart to the perimeter of my six feet of influence at any point in time and give me the words to speak and actions to take within my window of opportunity and influence. To the grocer ringing me up at the store or the self-checkout clerk. To the neighbor walking their dog on my trip to the mailbox. To the police officer who shows up at my door when I accidentally set my alarm off. To the woman who sits near me at Bible study, but I don’t know her name. To the soccer mom at practice who doesn’t know me and my story.

Every interaction with another person within six feet is an opportunity to share the light of Jesus with an ever-darkening world. Sometimes that person just needs to see you smile. They need you to make eye contact and see them. They may need you to hold their door or return their shopping cart. They may need the respect of a handshake or the gift of an attentive listener.

My world is small these days. My six feet of influence feels smaller than usual, but the truth is it’s always been six feet no matter what. My family are the ones who experience those six feet of influence the most, and I can choose to share it with them willingly with a joyful heart or allow sour attitudes to scare them away, making them flee away from my circle of influence. One day soon, their feet won’t pass through that circle so regularly and so close. I don’t want to waste my days of ministry at home yearning for days of ministry outside my home. No matter where I am, my field of influence is still only going to be six feet.

So, for now, I spend my days crafting Bible verses to pin to bulletin boards, tape to mirrors, and sprinkle in decoration around my home because that’s my six feet of ministry. I walk through the house and put things where they belong, straightening, organizing, creating a space for my family to feel at ease and safe—creating a space where than can feel seen, heard, and known because that’s my current six feet of influence. I walk around our home and say prayers for their future husband and wife as I pick up their messes and roll my eyes at their carelessness.

My six feet of influence may not always be full of people, but it is always full of Jesus. He walks with me, talks with me, and assures me I am His and I am doing His work. When my six feet needs to cross paths with more people, He is fully capable of making that happen. So, I endeavor to remain faithful in the talents He has entrusted, to steward what He has gifted well—that includes my time, energy, thoughts, and emotions, not just my money and my skills.

I cannot control or hope to influence outside of my six feet. None of us can. Therefore, Facebook rants and tirades in comments to others will never effect change. There’s too much distance between the influencer and the influenced. We must close the gap. It’s why rallies and peaceful protests can be effective—real people, rubbing shoulders inside each others’ six feet for a cause that matters to them.

Who gets to experience your six feet of influence? Do you need to reprioritize who those people are? Do you need to take time to bring your six feet closer to home? Or do you need to get out and take it to more people? Both are needed. Both are important. Where is God wanting you to steward your six feet of influence for this season of your life? Have you stopped to ask Him? Do you stay within six feet of His presence at all times, so you’re ready to turn on a dime when He says to the right or to the left? (Isaiah 30:21)

“Lord, break my heart for what breaks Yours. Keep me needing to be in Your presence. Use me to bring salt and light to a hurting world. May the six feet of influence You’ve given me for this life be used to glorify You and lead others to my Jesus and the abundant life He can fit into just six feet of diameter.”