Degrees of separation

Marveling at the nearness of God

Welcome! I hope you’re preparing to stay warm as a winter storm grips much of the country this weekend–brrr! Today, let’s smile a little at our human degrees of separation…then marvel at God’s nearness.

It’s a small world

“Our former preacher’s wife’s sister-in-law is cousins with Georgia who used to cut my hair in Lubbock years ago.”

At least I think those were mom’s words last weekend. 

“Wait…can you say that again?” I asked.

I paused and smiled, taking a moment to process what I was hearing. Connections interest me (from a social and a mathematical standpoint), and the string of relationships with an unexpected connection triggered that familiar cliche in my mind: 

It’s a small world.

Perhaps you have had a similar conversation. Or maybe in your social media scroll, you noticed a comment from a friend you didn’t realize was mutual and wondered, How do they know each other?

In the 1990s, three college friends created a game that explored film industry connections. The object of Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon was to link an actor to Kevin Bacon as efficiently as possible through shared movies. Frank Agin wrote a networking article with the following example:

Elvis Presley was in Change of Habit (1969) with Edward Asner. Edward Asner was in JFK (1991) with Kevin Bacon. Therefore, Asner has a Bacon number of 1 (one degree of separation), and Presley (who never appeared in a film with Bacon) has a Bacon number of 2 (or 2 degrees of separation).¹

Amazingly, almost any actor who has ever appeared in a Hollywood movie connects within six steps. 

(And if you and I played this game, you would win. I am not a movie buff!)

The Israelites’ missed connection 

All of these funny connections reminded me of the Israelites and their time in the wilderness. 

Imagine them camped at the base of Mt. Sinai: dusty clothes, dirty faces, and–perhaps–disillusioned eyes. Just exactly where was this Promised Land and how long would it take to get there?   

Moses stood before the throng of tired travelers and instructed them to consecrate themselves for three days, which they did…

The people were going to meet God! The degrees of separation felt from 400 years of slavery and consistent exposure to false Egyptian gods were about to dissipate. The Israelite people would have a God number of one–a direct connection to their Deliverer!

But they chose distance.

After God spoke the Ten Commandments to them (Ex. 20:1-17), the people said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen; but do not let God speak to us, lest we die” (Ex. 20:19).

Degree of separation: 2.

And, although not true mathematically, degree 2 was an increasingly long way from degree 1 spiritually:

• In the short term, degree 2 allowed space for golden calf worship (Ex. 32) and caused the initial tent of meeting (the Israelites’ first place of worship) to be set up far outside the boundaries of the camp (Ex. 33:7-8). 
• In the long run, degree two made room for continued idolatry (Ez. 20:8), the fiery offering of children to the false god Molech (Lev. 20:2, Ez. 20:31), and a stunted desire to truly know God (Is. 45:4, Jer. 9:3, Ez. 20:19-21).

Connected through Christ

All of us have experienced slavery. We stood dirty, wretched, disillusioned…with the wilderness of sin stretching before us (which, by the way, was the name of the desert in Exodus 16-17–the wilderness of Sin). No connection to God…only separation.

But Christ came to abolish degrees of separation and establish an everlasting connection.

If you have trusted in Christ alone for your salvation–admitting you are a sinner; believing that Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection are the only solution to that sin problem (that you can’t earn your salvation through works); and confessing Him as Lord of your life–then you have that everlasting connection. 

Oh, but the strength and intimacy of that bond depend on you. Casual reliance on a once-a-week sermon to keep you close to God trivializes that precious relationship. It won’t break the connection, but it will allow distractions to slip in. In contrast, daily prayer and Bible study keep the relationship growing…deepening…prioritized, providing us the opportunity to truly know God (Phil. 3:8). 

If you have not placed your faith in Christ as your Lord and Savior, please reach out to me or to a Christian you know. (You can send me an email here.) It would be an honor to visit with you about how to have an everlasting connection to the One who loves you and gave His life for you.

Closing

You know, Kevin Bacon is not interested in whether or not I know him. He will not knock on my door to make sure we have met nor ensure his availability each morning to hear my deepest concerns and share his wisdom. 

On the other hand, God chose me (and you!) before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4). The Almighty, Sovereign, Creator of the universe wants us to know Him. He sent His Son to make the connection available, and He ensures His availability all day, every day to meet with us. 

Until next time, may we marvel at His nearness. Stay warm!

Do you have a fun connection story? Or a tale of playing Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Perhaps you have a comment to add about the nearness of God. If so, please scroll down a bit and share in the comment section. I would love to hear from you!

©2026 Catherine L Hill. All rights reserved.

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¹Agin, F. (April 17, 2019). Networking Lessons from the “Kevin Bacon” Game. Retrieved January 21, 2026.

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