Land of my Sojourn

I'm a technology freak

I am always into the latest stuff. When I was in my twenties, I was very close to what they called in my MBA studies an early adopter. I had a laserdisc player in 1990, my first CD player in 1986 and I've always had a walkman going back as far as I can remember. Today, we have a full-service media setup in the family room, complete with home theater (with 5-disc DVD), two VCR's (one of which will soon be replaced by a DVD recorder) and a video game system for the boys.

And yet......

Despite this apparent need to always keep on (or near) the cutting edge of technology/media, I go every Sunday to a building that is nearly 100 years old, occasionally pull out hymns that are (lyrically, at least) centuries old and learn from a Bible that is millennia old about a God that has existed since before the beginning of time.

I appreciate how people want to redefine worship or religion or ritual. All of these acts are God-based, but human-defined. Like technology or anything else worldly, we are always looking for the next great worship idea, the next new way to improve the quality of our Sunday service, etc. By way of example, we celebrate Communion in an effort to restore our relationship to/refresh our relationship with God. However, we use crushed unsalted crackers and grape juice to represent the bread and wine. Others use saltines, or bread, or fruit punch. We celebrate communion the first Sunday of the month, others celebrate it every Sunday, or after prayer meeting, or whenever. The meaning is constant, the method is different.

This is the great thing about God. No matter how much (or how rapidly) our world around us is changing, God is constant. I remember the first time my Dad told me about how God is a rock we can stand on, and to put our faith in anything else is to put it on a base of ever-shifting sand. I understand that now. My faith is not in the acts/rituals/events/schedule of my church's (or any other church's) worship program. It is in God and, as long as I see, hear, feel and experience God through my church, I know He is there and faith is renewed.

As long as God is at the centre, the methods are entirely up to the individual.

posted by Brian @ 9:04 AM