"What we've got here is failure to communicate....."

(Title is taken from a sound bite at the beginning of Guns 'n Roses "Civil War")

How many of us have ever taken the easy way out and sent an e-mail instead of picking up the phone or just going and visiting someone? I know I have. It's the fast paced world that we live in where we have so much to do and so little time, we just feel we have done our duty by sending an e-mail, or a quick text message. We feel as though we have met the need of someone in quick, 120 character snipits. Nothing could be further from the truth. Our connected world is making us more and more disconnected.

Let's look back in time about 30 years. Rotary phones were still in and touch tone phones were just coming of age. The first "cellular" or "car" phones were being made and cost an arm and a leg to buy. How did we communicate back then? I can remember picking up the phone and actually talking with someone on the other line or getting the annoying busy signal and trying back later. Or, I just hopped on my bike and road over to their house.

Think about John and the the first century A.D. They obviously didn't have phones and tin cans were still years down the road. Pen and paper were the only means of communication over distances, besides actually visiting. Communication has become a lost art, contrary to what we might think.

I was reading through 2 John the night before last with a friend and 3 John tonight and it hit me. He concluded both letters the same way: "I had much to write to you, but I would rather not write with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face" (3 John 13-14). Talk face to face? What an idea. Imagine what we can accomplish with new believers and non-believers when we invest time in talking face to face, or at least voice to voice, instead of fingertip to fingertip. I was guilty of the fingertip dance tonight as a matter of fact.

Guilty of communication failure,
Jesus Freak Out!

What do you want me to do?

God's will. At some point in our lives, we have all asked God the question, what is your wil for me? Well, maybe more than one point in our lives. At least I know I have asked that question way more than once. But what is God's will for each of our lives? What do we ask of Him? We don't have to read any further than 1 John 5:14:

"And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us." (ESV)

The key point here is "according to his will." Again I ask, what is His will? For one thing, obedience (I'm preaching to myself here as well). One of the hardest things to do is put ourselves aside and listen to what it is that God wants us to do, whether that's picking up shop and moving to another state, or simply talking to the nice lady in line in front of us. Another thing is having faith. That can be difficult during the hard times we face in life. Lastly, belief in Christ as our Savior. To me, it's that simple.

Simplifying my faith,
Jesus Freak Out!