I am firmly entrenched in middle age, but am stunned at the progress just in my time. For my mother, 80-years young, I can't even imagine what goes through her mind as the dizzying Information Age swirls around her.
 |
| Photo via Flickr by * Honest * |
My life is with high-tech devices and sattelite images and instant communications. Data fills my desktops, the airwaves, the cable systems and my phone. Routers and processors and motherboards all silently work to bring the information to the people.
Despite the physical evidence, the basis of our times is not the computer. The age in which we live is one of words. It always has been.
Few can argue the influence of the Internet and the proliferation of the silicon chip, but they are nothing without the syntax and sentences of the information that they proliferate. Without ideas, the bits and bytes of computers are empty carriers of energy.
Words and ideas still run our world. And this should give us hope. The "Word made flesh" is relevant even in this age. The words of Christ are too life changing to trumped by any smart phone or social network.
We need men and women take up “holy orders” and go beyond the norm of Christendom? We need a revolution of words. What a different world we would live in if Christians would take heed to the commands like:
Be at peace with all men
Die daily to self
Submit to authority
Turn the other cheek
Love your neighbor
Jesus spoke of another kingdom. He spoke of a life on this planet that was unlike any other experienced. But His words are nothing without those willing to live out the life.
A Red Letter Revolution.
Comment?
14 comments so far - add yours here:
i can hardly imagine how many words are being said and written.
i really do wonder what your mother thinks about it all.
So true! People are saying stuff more now than ever before!
Also, wonderful encouragement! Thank you so much. Inspires me to be better with my own interactions, online and off.
[This is Lady Tam from SCL. :)]
Thought provoking post, David.
Forget your sweet mother though, I can hardly wrap my four decade old brain around it. The shear volume of the words we type, read, hear, and speak is astounding.
It reminds me to be careful with the words we utter. God says that His words to not return back to Him void. I believe the same is true for our words.
They may not always accomplish their intended purpose as God's words do, but they cause ripples affecting those around us and those we may never know.
Thanks for getting us to think about the power our words have - even in this modernized and gadgetized society.
St Francis of Assisi wrote "Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words"
I find that often we give to much credibility to the use of words. Words are nothing without actions as David notes. We need to trust in the WORD of GOD more and less in the WORDS of man.
Eh, wasn't really thinking of it in a "Who's word should we trust?" kind of way. More in a "Wow, people -really- like to chat about absolutely nothing on the internet" kind of way.
Here is a compilation of pictures of people reading the bible, I thought readers of your blog would appreciate:
http://iamreadingthebiblesohard.tumblr.com/
Amen, and preach it brother! My grandfather lived to be 100. Through two world wars, the depression, segregation...I wish I had talked to him about what he thought of such things. I wish I had asked what he thought of Jesus.
Amazing isn’t it; all the words, all the books, the glut of information? More pages than most Bibles in the Health Care Reform bill… and we still can’t figure it out.
But God told us all we need to know in One Book of Books and called it, The Word.
Profoundly simple.
Two ears. One mouth. I did the math. "Be slow to speak and quick to listen."
Thanks for your words - keep it up.
Man, all that talk of routers and cables and processors was getting me excited! ha ha Glad I also get excited about words (actually moreso).
A Red Letter Revolution. I like the sound of that.
Words do matter, don't they? You are right, they are still the most revolutionary tool we have.
You have no idea how sweet these words are to my ears right this moment. I've been sitting here feeling like crying, my stomach physically ill as I read words from people named Christian about evolving Christianity, and the equality of human reason to God's Word, about the infallibility of Scripture being no more than an interesting concept of only recent centuries.
Then I come here and see those precious red letters. Dear God I needed this! Thank You! (And THANK YOU, David!)
PS ~ We need not evolutionary Chrisianity, but revolutionary Christianity!
And you are a man of words and ideas :) (So, you help make the world go 'round. :)
Amen. That was good David
Post a Comment