The Word Of God: Trending for Over 2000 Years!

"If the universe is so bad, how on earth did human beings ever come to attribute it to the activity of a wise and good Creator?"  - C.S. Lewis

Have you noticed lately how many high profile people have been getting into trouble because of their social media posts? It seems that hardly a day goes by without some celebrity or other public figure posting something they probably should have given more thought prior to, or not posted altogether.

I was talking about this with some friends over coffee when one of them brought up this interesting question, "If Jesus were alive on earth today would he use social media?" You have to admit, that is an intriguing question.

Another of my friends said that he probably would since it is such an effective way to communicate. Another said that Jesus, being who he is, would have no need for such things because he would still be able to spread his message no matter what.

I tried to wrap my mind around Jesus using Twitter or Facebook, for example, to help teach and preach his message to the world. I suppose that one would first have to take it all into the context of our modern day and age.

Without question, things were a lot different over 2000 years ago. The only effective communication among the common poeple back in Jesus' time was word of mouth, or oral communication. Only the priests and members of the privileged few had access to written manuscripts, as they were pretty much the only ones who could read then.

Needless to say, the options of communication were quite limited. Yet, this is what Jesus had to work with, so he did. Can you imagine if Jesus had to compete with the 24/7, non-stop cacophony that exists in our world now? One can only guess if it would create problems, or not.

Personally, I think Jesus liked rubbing elbows with the public. He liked the personal interaction from those who listened to him teach and preach. In this way, he knew that his message was getting across without being distorted or misinterpreted.

As you well know, there really is no guarantee of trustworthiness of what we read online. On the other hand, the people were getting his message straight from the source, by Jesus himself. What could be better than that! (John 17:17)

Jesus knew that his message was far too important to be entrusted to just anybody. That's why he hand-picked his own disciples. Yes, there was Judas Iscariot, but he was a necessary part of the larger picture. None of what Jesus said or did was by pure happenstance.

Jesus didn't send his disciples out into the world to spread his word before they were prepared. Every step of their discipleship was purposeful and preordained. Nothing was left to chance, and nothing was left out. The stage had been set by Jesus, and the disciples were quite ready to get his message out there.

Now in terms of longevity the word of God has been around a lot longer than the internet. In terms of authenticity, credibility, and faithfulness His word wins hands down (John 1:14). Amazingly, God has managed to do something that the internet, social media, or any other mode of communication hasn't come close to.

He has touched the heart and souls of humans with his love, compassion, and wisdom down through the centuries. The Bible, which contains God's words to humanity has no need for things like updates, or protection from hackers. His word is immutable (Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 13:8; James 1:17).

If Jesus were to come to earth tomorrow, would he use social media? No one can really say for sure. But what we can be sure of is that His word has stood the test of time. And civilizations will continue to rise and fall, generations will come and go, but God's word will stand forever (Isaiah 40:8).

Scripture: Psalm 119:89; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 24:35; John 1:1; Psalm 136:26

Prayer: Dear Lord, may we all bring out the best in each other, and grow in the way we look at ourselves and others, amen.

Have a blessed Monday!

Hailey