Better Than Technology

On a rainy Saturday afternoon my husband decided to clear the clutter on his desk, which led to tossing of obsolete electronics.

He had twenty year old Palm Pilots on his desk. Who knows why – we haven’t touched them in eighteen years. He looked at two old laptop computers, sitting on a top shelf, and rolled his eyes. Battery chargers, cords from who knows what, and connectors of all kinds surfaced.  Pitch ’em, we decided.

These electronic devices stored and recorded words, ideas, memories and truth that we thought was important, that we needed, and now we just shake our heads at the obsolete technology while filling up our current computers, phones and iPads with more necessary information.

God never views us, our thoughts, relationships, words, work or memories as obsolete, and unlike our external methods for keeping track of information, he knows everything about us from the inside-out.

God is far better than the latest gadgets. As our creator, he knows us intimately and he transforms our hearts. He knows when we are running out of energy, and he gives us supernatural power.

Created and Known by God

Palm Pilots were popular in the 90s, and I used mine to record phone numbers, addresses, schedules and notes. Twenty years ago a Palm Pilot was state of the art, and now one can be had on eBay for $25.00.

How many addresses and phone numbers represent relationships that are no more? As our lives go on and we meet more people, we simply cannot stay in relationship with all of them. At least I can’t.

God never loses track of anyone. He knows everything about us down to the number of hairs on our heads. He knows where we live. He has written the name of everyone who follows Jesus in his book of life, and that book is secure.

The Palm Pilot of twenty years ago quickly gave way to the smart phone of today, but both of them will one day be obsolete. God will never forget us, and that means that we are secure in his love and care.

My smart phone isn’t that smart.

Re-Worked by Jesus Christ

Those old computers were once necessary to us. Work, writing, emails, photos, and more were all contained on the hard drives of those computers. My husband recently took apart a PC and was amazed to find the solid state drive about the size of a credit card. Computers have changed from bulky desktops to laptops; hard drives to solid state drives; floppy disks to intangible iCloud storage. What’s next?

God knows every word we have spoken and every word we will speak. I wonder how many words each old laptop stored. I wonder how many words I have spoken or written in my lifetime.

Our words reveal our hearts.  Jesus said that to Pharisees who had just attributed his healing of a demon possessed man to Beelzebub. Their words accused him, but Jesus said their hearts were the problem. They could not see Jesus for who he was; the Son of God. They didn’t realize how desperately they needed him.

I regret some of the words I have spoken that came from an immature and selfish heart. The only way to clean up or correct my speech for good is to transform my heart, and the only one who can do that is Jesus.

For me, the Word of God is the transformative element, and as I have read and studied the Bible, it is having an effect. Jesus is transforming me, and my heart is in a little better shape now, although it has a long way to go.

Computers store my words, but Jesus transforms my heart from where the words come.

Powered by God’s Spirit

We had no idea what items the battery chargers were meant to power up. A video recorder or a camera? They came in handy when electricity was not available, but eventually the power would wear down.

When I feel like my physical or emotional energy is running low, we can plug into a energy source. Believers in Jesus Christ have been given the Holy Spirit as a supernatural power source, but our flesh, our sinful nature, is always trying to survive on its own power.

Romans chapter 7 tells of Paul’s struggle with the sinful nature, but then he transitions into one of the most beautiful and powerful chapters of the Bible, Romans 8, in which he tells us of the benefit, the glory, and the power of living in the Spirit of Christ.

We are righteous, our minds are set on life and peace, and Jesus will “give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.” (Romans 8:11) We are God’s sons and daughters and his heirs. The Spirit helps us when we don’t have words to pray. We know that God is for us. “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Romans 8:37)

Jesus tells us that through faith we have the Holy Spirit living in us. No cord required. 

There will be a day when we will conquer forgotten relationships, regrettable words, and flagging energy, and the latest technology will have nothing to do with our overcoming. When our bodies die, like obsolete equipment, God the Father, the one who created and knows us, Jesus Christ, the one who saves us and transforms our hearts, and the Holy Spirit, the one who gives us energy to live powerful lives will raise us to a new and vastly improved life.

Human invented technology will never come close to the power of God.

How does God equip you better than technology to manage your life?