Would it be too radical to believe that God would utilize the innovation you are working on to communicate to those around you? I would like to contend that many times our innovations provide new and creative glimpses into the Kingdom. Who knows maybe the only interest God has in your innovation is the example it provides.
We are pretty utilitarian so this is hard for us to imagine. But after all. Our God is the one who paid his tax by having his disciple pull the money from a fish! That sure wasn't the most practical way to go about it. But it did teach those who experienced this amazing tax payment some powerful lessons.
What lessons does God want to teach you and others through your innovation?
I was in Sunday School this week at Fellowship Bible Church in Colorado Springs and I came up with one such example that was such an encouragement to me. We all know at least a little about GPS technology. It has revolutionized so much of our mapping software and other key digital tools. We were talking about God's guidance in our lives and it occurred to me that God's Holy Spirit is a lot like a GPS unit in your car. When you begin your relationship with Christ you insert the directions for Heaven. From that point on the Holy Spirit is guiding and directing you towards God and away from the things that might interest us. Even if we get off track in our car, the GPS recomputes how to get to the location and starts us back in the right direction.
What an amazing example of God's faithful and persistent love and guidance in our lives!
What innovations are you working on or interacting with?
How might God use that innovation to point people towards Him?
4 comments:
Ooh... Not sure I can go with the Holy Spirit as divine GPS. Far too utilitarian for the friend who comes alongside.
Andrew, great point. I think that innovations will bring out glimpses that will challenge our understanding of God and His ways. The GPS example gets us to ask how the Holy Spirit is like that and how He is not. Great comment!
Being guided involves:
Being biblical
Being practical
Simplexity - (see The Forgotten Ways by Al Hirsch - art of embracing substance in the simple)
Openness to the Spirit, but testing the `spirit' - by this I am not meaning seeing demons under the doilies type of stuff, but looking at the real heart of the matter, motivations, consistency with Jesus's teaching
Being constructively creative in how we serve others.
I also see limitations in the metaphor of GPS for HS.
We need to elaborate in what constitutes "a move of the Spirit" and how it is characterised through its `fruit'.
Apark56,
Thanks for your helpful thoughts on what a movement of the Holy Spirit is like. I especially like "substance in the simple" and "constructively creative"!
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