large as this longing

Why is it that life flies by so fast? Some days it just seems that there’s no way out of the frenzied pace we find ourselves running.  The most terrible part of it all is that we hardly ever stop long enough to notice.  We so easily get caught up in keeping our plates spinning.  I wonder what would happen if everything stopped one day.  Would we be so disoriented at the lack of insane motion that we wouldn’t recognize the world we live in?

Life is full of beautiful things.  Let’s not let our brokenness  black them out, let’s not remain too busy to notice.  Let’s all stop and breathe deep today, the Life that is all around us.

We’ve all noticed how incredibly fast technology is changing the world we live in. During the past quarter century we’ve seen amazing scientific advances, perhaps especially, in the ways we communicate. I remember when my small rural town in Wisconsin first connected to the World Wide Web. Our public library purchased a brand new computer and with it, the internet. Whoa! Suddenly, kids and adults alike (some of whom, I’d venture to say, had rarely ever been to our library) came flocking in to stand in line and wait their turn. Myself and most of my middle school buddies waited just for a chance to see if we could figure out how this new thing worked. None of us knew then the extent to which the internet would profoundly shape our lives.

Fast forward 15 years. We’ve now seen the genesis of email, instant messaging, cell phones, text messaging, online social networking, wireless web browsing…the list goes on. And as we consider how fast things are continuing to change, we wonder and dream about what’s next. It all makes me stop and think sometimes, “Is life better in the ways that matter to Jesus because of all of these new ways to communicate?”

God wants us to live this life in relationship with others. Things like text messaging and social networks online certainly help us connect with our friends. But are they helping us build meaningful community? Are they allowing us to share our lives and our faith with each other? Are they helping us grow closer to Jesus?
God, in whose image we were created, is the giver of humanity’s creative drive. So advances in technology make sense as we use the minds and ingenuity God has blessed us with. And certainly God can use for his glory, all of the things we’ve created. As an example, if you were to log on to your Facebook account right now and type in “on fire for Christ” in the “search for groups” field, you’d find over 500 groups that exist with those words in their name. That’s pretty cool! But there are obvious dangers with all of this too. Like, what are the effects of spending too much time communicating through a cell phone or social network site? Are we losing an authenticity that can only exist in an in-person way of relating? And what about the people out there who use these new technologies for evil purposes? We know the internet is not always a safe place.

I remain hopeful, though, that as God continues to restore what was lost in the Garden of Eden, he’ll not forget to redeem the fancy new yuck we get ourselves into. We need only turn to God’s Word to find that he’s in the business of picking up the pieces of the messes we make.

Brenna was born, on November 8th. She’s the light of our lives!