Life sure has changed.
A decade ago, I had to get into a car, navigate traffic, get money from the bank, walk into a shop, price haggle, get what I want…maybe, get back into traffic and go home.
Even writing that out leaves me exhausted.
Fast forward a couple of days ago. I needed an item so I got on my laptop, opened up my phone, found a website…all the while sitting on my couch.
Today the item showed up ( 4 days ahead of schedule) with zero hassle.
A little bit too easy if you ask me … not that I’m complaining.
What I find intriguing are the parallels with faith.
In theory, the concept of prayer for example is something that is easily disregarded by the cynical spirit that considers getting something by just asking to be too easy.
You may not know how it works but think of all the other things you do without knowing how exactly it works.
I never met the person who took my money while online. The only evidence I ever had was a text message from my bank that money had been taken out of my account.
God hasn’t given us much evidence either…of course there is that big text containing his words and the Holy Spirit.
I believed the bank.
I wonder why I struggle to believe the bible.
I shouldn’t, considering God had a head start on the virtual world way before virtual became a thing.
In the past couple of years the world has out of necessity latched onto ways of doing things that sounded unbelievable just a decade ago. Conference meetings that are 15 hours, two flights and a continent away can now be done in my pj’s without stepping anywhere near a consulate; and I end up with the same knowledge being imparted.
In the same way, prayer is something we often turn to out of necessity. Regardless of motive, it doesn’t remain any less effective considering that we’re still exercising faith in a God who is unseen.
Humans in 2022 have no problem exercising faith in the unseen. More likely than not, you get online on a fairly regular basis, enter sensitive details about your life and don’t think much of it. You get on your phone , push an app, a vehicle shows up and you get in, trusting that your driver has been well vetted and that you will arrive at your destination safely.
It’s just the way life works these days.
But there is a way life has worked since the beginning of time. A way of thinking that puts faith in higher things. A way of thinking that God wants us to have.
We may not always understand how it all works but God gets that, and He is far more trustworthy and will never require a systems upgrade.