The Best Form of Communication!

Recently I saw a comedian who referred to a situation I have seen played out over and over again.  A person arrives at a friend’s home and, rather than simply going to the door and knocking, they send a text that says, “I am here!”  It’s so strange to me. Why not just go to the front door?  Why the need for the text? (And, what did we do for so many years, before we could text our arrival?)

It seems to me that, with all of our means of communication today, we often don’t know how to really communicate. We don’t know when to use email or text messages or to simply make a phone call.  Every so often I get a text message that is longer than long—which would make for a much better email.  Then there are those people who want to use email for instant communication, instead of sending a text message or making a phone call, expecting the other person to chat via their inbox.  I tell my children that, when making arrangements with someone—i.e. to settle on a date, time, and place—one phone call can settle the matter in much less time than can half an hour of texting back and forth.  With all of our various modes of communication, it seems to me that our actual communication has not gotten better, and maybe even a bit worse. Maybe it’s my age, but it’s all so confusing to me.

Did you know that God has a variety of means of communication?  The Bible tells of God communicating through creation, through his prophets, and through his Word (i.e. the Scriptures).  But somehow the communication wasn’t getting through.  So, God decided to do something different. We might say he came and knocked on our front door.  He came in person to let us know more about himself than we would have ever known otherwise.  God’s greatest means of communication has been through his son, Jesus Christ. After all, we all know that there is no better form of communication than that which is done in person. 

The writer to the Hebrews put it this way: “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being….” (Hebrews 1:3 – NIV) The Apostle John wrote, “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.” (1 John 1:9 – NIV)

I’m thankful that God has communicated to us in a way that has effectively told us of his great love for us.  It was not via a text, an email, or a Snapchat—or any other third party form of communication. Rather, through the coming of his son, Jesus, God showed up in person; he used the best form of communication.  Maybe we could learn a thing or two from God!

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris