Jesus Isn’t An App!

As I downloaded yet another app this week, I thought of the fun and convenience technology has brought to our lives. You know what I mean – apps for finding a great place to eat, mapping your route to your destination, saving at local businesses, reading books and magazines, watching TV shows … not to mention tweeting, posting to Facebook and checking email.

And while all of this makes like easier, I also noticed a trend in the lives of many busy urbanites: Segmenting life and using people like apps.

Think with me about how this works. We used to get together for some relational time over dinner just for a fun time. Now we are in constant contact, reading each other’s news stream as our lives pass by. We start to think, “I wonder how Jane could help me do this?” or “I’ll bet I could get Jim to do this for me.” We seem to be changing friendships into merchandizing opportunities, connections into selfish applications.

Nowhere does this seem to take on more of a dark side than in our relationship with the Lord of the Universe. Someone recently commented on this saying, “Jesus can fix that for you!” At that moment I thought, “Is Jesus our 24/7 concierge? Did Jesus become the new (or old) Siri?

While the Lord Jesus is a friend to sinners and has called us to “ask and you will receive” (John 16:24), the Bible clearly states that he is not an app –

“Now this is the confidence we have before Him: Whenever we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked Him for.” (1 John 5:14–15, HCSB)

The bottom line is this: Jesus calls us to promote His kingdom and His agenda. When we choose to do so, there are limitless resources than we can’t even imagine at our fingertips. This week, access the Lord of Grace and Mercy and advance His mission – but remember, He’s not an app; He is Lord.