I remember watching the planes fly into the World Trade Center towers while standing in my living room waiting to drive my youngest daughter to school. My oldest was a freshman in college, and it was not long before we were on the phone seeing if the other was okay and asking, "What now?" "What do we do now that what we have known is no more?"
As the events of the next several days, months, and years have unfolded, I have jokingly--and not so jokingly--asked, "What would happen if the grid went down?" What would life be like without the electricity and wireless connections we take for granted? What if something more catastrophic than the events of 9/11/2001 took place in our country?
More importantly, I have asked "What would your faith look like if the grid goes down?"
You may ask, "What does the grid have to do with my faith?" I'll tell you.
In an increasingly technologically-driven world, how we get and process information has changed dramatically for those of us who have access to that technology. If we get our information--even reading the Scriptures on our smart phones--from electronic, wireless sources, what will we have if we find ourselves unplugged from all that information and data? We don't memorize or familiarize ourselves with anything now because we can instantly "look it up" as long as we are connected.
If the grid went down, what would our worship look like? (Ask those who were Legacy Church on June 26. They have an idea.) How much of the Scriptures would we know? Who would we trust to tell us the truth? How would we tell others about the Good News?
Here is one reality I can stand upon.
When Jesus came, he came as "the Word," according to John. His was an in-flesh Word, not some data wirelessly beamed across the universe. The Word "became flesh and made his dwelling among us," John witnessed.
Word embodied in a person is God's way.
The Word living in relationship among others is God's way.
The Word of God spoken in human relationship is God's way. This is why the Gospel still thrives in societies that are disconnected from or have no idea what is "the grid." Anything other than Word in relationship is only a cheap imitation of God's intentions.
Will I give up my iPhone? No. Will I stop blogging? No.
But I will ensure that as much of the grid-related things I do, I will spend as much time knowing and sharing the Word in relationship because when--not if--the grid goes down, I will hopefully still be an effective servant for the One who called me to join Him on this rescue mission.
What about you?