Blind Faith

Access to valuable information often depends on the format in which
it is presented. As more and more information is converted to electronic
media, what seemed to be a universally accessible format only a short time
ago can quickly become a fading relic accessible by fewer and fewer
interested people. The usable life cycle of information storage formats
appears to shorten with the introduction of each new whiz-bang generation of
devices.
Last week, First Baptist Church, Huntsville, Alabama faced that
issue while preparing a time capsule commemorating the church’s 200th
anniversary. The capsule is intended to be opened at the celebration of the
250th anniversary, in 2049. A variety of items illustrative of the church’s
life in 2009-10 were placed in the time capsule – a phone book with the
church’s Yellow Pages ad, a Cradle Roll Bible, instructional materials used
by children youth and adults in Bible study – lots of “hard copies” or
hands-on items. A major limitation of what could be included in a time
capsule in years past has been removed by the current ability to create
electronic files containing photographs, published texts, video
presentations, and the like. Several CDs and DVDs telling the story of FBC
in 2009 were placed in the time capsule. The digital data should be in
pristine condition in 2049 – assuming that people in 2049 would have a way
of accessing it!.
The problem of fleeting information storage formats was anticipated
by a forward-thinking member of the Bicentennial Committee. Along with the
CDs and DVDs, the committee included a portable multi-media player in the
time capsule! Who seriously thinks that 50 years from now people will still
be using computers and other electronic devices that read MP3,WAV, JPG, TIF
and other file types in use today? Since electricity to power the
multi-media player certainly will not be outmoded in 2049, the player is the
ideal means of allowing people who open the time capsule to see and hear the
50-year old messages sealed and buried for them last week.
Information treasured by previous generations had a much longer
shelf-life than today, but changing methods of passing information along
still caused problems. An online sale recently featured devices for
converting VHS tapes to DVDs, and for archiving slides and home movies on
Windows XP computers. The problem is that Windows XP and 32-bit computers
are on the way to the scrap heap, replaced by Windows 7 running on 64-bit
computers. That’s not even considering formatting issues posed by Mac
computers and other PC operating systems. Few current computers even have a
3.5″ floppy drive to access information stored on thousands of floppy disks.
The continued rise and fall of media is as relentless as the passage from
wax disks to vinyl LPs to reel-to-reel audio tape to 8-track to cassettes to
CDs to I-pods and beyond. Printed books, magazines, and newspapers are
giving way to e-books on Kindles, APs on I-phones, and who knows what may
come next. Person-to-person thoughtful oratory is almost incomprehensible
to people acculturated to 24-hour sound-bite news cycles.
How, then, can vital information – say, for instance, God’s word of
love and grace – be preserved and transmitted understandably. Fortunately,
the Bible, itself, confidently explains the provision God has made: “In the
past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets many times and in many
different ways. {2} But now in these last days God has spoken to us through
his Son. God has chosen his Son to own all things, and through him he made
the world. {3} The Son reflects the glory of God and shows exactly what God
is like. He holds everything together with his powerful word.” (Hebrews
1:1-3a NCV) Other messengers and methods for offering access to God and
God’s love and grace may change through time, but only Jesus is the
universally accessible revelation of God. Jesus said it himself: “Whoever
has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9b NCV) The way to interpret the
ancient text of the Bible, or to understand God’s activity in the world, is
to look faithfully and directly into the face of Jesus, to follow his words
and works. The 1963 Baptist Faith and Message statement on The Scriptures
got it right: “The criterion by which the Bible is to be interpreted is
Jesus Christ.” The living Christ, as contemporary as today, continues to
offer up-to-date access to God’s eternal story of love and grace.
Followers of Jesus also have an important role in providing access
to God’s ways for others who are seeking to understand. Striving to conform
our attitudes and actions to those of Jesus offers evidence of the
difference living faithfully in relationship with God can make. If we are
faithful, others can come to know God through the portal of our living
testimony. Jesus gave us the assignment: “In the same way, you should be a
light for other people. Live so that they will see the good things you do
and will praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16 NCV) Believers can
convert the message of God’s love and grace into concrete everyday actions
so that it is always understandable in the format of contemporary life.
What about the problem of formats becoming outmoded? That is never
a problem with Jesus as the accessible interpreter of God’s grace: “Jesus
Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8 NCV)
What does the ancient record of God’s grace have to say to your life
today? Do you have a personal relationship with the one – Jesus Christ -
who can provide genuine understanding of God’s message? Are you a faithful
“reader” to offer access to God’s grace to others?
- J. Edward Culpepper

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