This morning as I read my Bible on my iPad, I delighted in the instant, free access I have with God through faith in Christ. I’m not saying that God is just like Siri, or a source of information on par with Google. He is infinitely superior to us or any technology we could invent. To speak with God, I don’t have to enter a number or web address. I don’t even have to make an appointment! My access to God in Christ is instant and assured, with no dead-zones, and I’ll never get dropped. The answers I get from the Bible are reliable.
What got me thinking along this technology vein was a prompt on my laptop sitting nearby as I read the Bible. My security software was reminding me it had been several weeks since I performed a virus scan, so my device could be subject to harmful viruses. Interestingly, what I was reading in Scripture at that moment was a prompt for me to address my sin, with a warning about the harm that sin brings to a life. Scripture was prompting me to do a “virus scan” on my life.
Many Christians regard the Bible as the “living word,” just as it claims to be. This means that, though an ancient book, its message is ever contemporary and piercingly personal. Sometimes it encourages, but sometimes it convicts, which is why we don’t always like to read it – we don’t like to feel guilty. But, the guilt that God’s Word brings is beneficial. It’s like the unpleasant pain you feel when you pick up a hot skillet; your nerves send pain signals to your brain which in turn tells your hand to let go because to continue to hold on will be harmful to you. God brings the conviction of unpleasant guilt to tell you to let go of your sin for to continue to hold on to it will be harmful to you.
So, as I initiated the recommended virus scan on my laptop, I thought of the Scripture promise made to those who trust in Christ, “If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I did that “virus scan” as well.
