I sit here in my favorite place in Antigua, the little El
Refugio coffee shop. I have finished my
cup of exquisite coffee, I have finished my Bible study for the day, and I know
I must write. I have not written
anything in months. I am not sure what
happened. I have been busy, but there
has also been plenty of opportunity to share.
But I don’t know how to sit down and put into words everything that has
happened. The more time passes, the
harder it becomes. There is plenty to
communicate, but putting it all into letters, words, and sentences that can properly
express it to others seems like an impossible task.
The technology we have nowadays allows us to communicate in
miraculous ways. Sometimes I pine for
the days of couriers on horseback delivering messages from faraway lands. Why was I not born in that time I wonder? Times seemed simpler then and I romanticize
the past. In so doing I ignore the
opportunities there is at hand to truly impact the world with one click.
With one click, everything I have written will be available
to be accessed by the entire world. Sometimes
I forget the monumental potential that the right messages at the right time can
have on people who stumble across something I have written. However at the same time this amazing
technology can backfire. There is so
much information on the Internet. I
could spend the rest of my life staring at a computer screen taking in
information and contributing absolutely nothing to our local or global
society. How am I using this age of one
click global communication? Am I using
it to glorify God, to love others, and to leave an impact on our world? Or am I distracting myself with it, leaving no
time for the greater purposes God has called us toward? I hate to admit that for me it feels at times
more like a distraction.
I get lost in the land of infinite information (or
misinformation). One link leads to
another link which leads to another link.
If I’m not careful an hour or two can pass. I find myself taking in endless amounts of
information and opinions without contributing anything.
I want to stop wasting time.
I want to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity technology allows
without being distracted with it. For
believers in Jesus, our relationship with Him and the love that flows from that
must be the center of everything we do, and that includes the time we spend
online. Are we using that miraculous
opportunity to love others and bring God the glory, or do we find ourselves
addicted and in over our heads?
