Jesus Teaches about the Internet
Christmas is almost here! Merry Christmas to all of my faithful readers and to anyone who happens to pass by and wonder what this little inconsistent blog is all about.
This thing we call the Internet is fantastic. It is amazing, terrifying, a blessing and a curse. We use it for work: I use it for work. From the Internet we can buy anything we want and just about everything we need. We get our news, sometimes cleanly, sometime skewed. We keep in touch with faraway family and friends we haven't seen in years. We even share in cosmic events that otherwise we would have missed.
But as Christmas approaches, I'm reminded of Jesus' response to the Internet. (You say the Bible doesn't speak to the Internet?)
"And it happened when He was in a certain city, that behold, a man who was full of leprosy saw Jesus; and he fell on his face and implored Him, saying, 'Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.'
Then He put out His hand and touched him, saying, 'I am willing; be cleansed.' Immediately the leprosy left him. And He charged him to tell no one, 'But go and show yourself to the priest, and make an offering for your cleansing, as a testimony to them, just as Moses commanded.'
However, the report went around concerning Him all the more; and great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities. So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." (Luke 5:12-16, NKJV)
Most pastors in most church services focus on the early verses of this passage, Luke 5:12-13, because that is where the miraculous message of Jesus' love and healing is told. They are right - the miraculous message is worth telling. But there is another message that is worth telling, especially in today's work-from-home throes-of-COVID world. That message is that sensory overload drowns out the voice of our Father!
That's right, Christian. Jesus "often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed." Why did Jesus do that? Why withdraw from society to pray?
Jesus withdrew from everything because He knew, even being the God-Man, that the cacophony of voices clamoring for his attention distracted Him from the one voice that matters - that of the Father. Jesus didn't have FOX and CNN battling for ratings. He didn't have to wade through propaganda from FB Fact Checkers and Op Eds masquerading as news articles. He didn't have to dig through URL after URL to find source details on what's actually in the stimulus package (because all memes are 100% true), yet He understood the only way to keep His clear connection with the Father was to withdraw and pray.
So, risking losing readers who discover they can survive better on less, take a break this Christmas season, withdraw from the Internet of things and the 24-hour news cycle and the millions of voices on social media, if just for a minute. The next time you think about (or mindlessly click) visiting your favorite news or social media site to catch up on the happenings of the day, click on your favorite scripture page or just click "sleep" instead. Pick up the Good Book and commune with the One who knows the real truth and will never spin it. Let your own personal Bible verse read...
"...the reports flooded in from social and mainstream media, and great multitudes of conflicting information assaulted her eyes and ears clamoring for relevance. So she herself withdrew from the Internet and prayed."
That's it. It's that simple. See how that one simple act impacts your 2021.
God bless, friend, and Merry Christmas!
(Photo: SixGunAnnie.com)