With Us

"The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel"--which means, "God with us." (Matthew 1:23)

  Social Media has become the current culture's Mark Twain.  No, not in terms of wit or good writing. Only a few minutes in any social media proves that wrong. Mark Twain once responded to rumors that he had died by saying "The reports of my demise has been greatly exaggerated" (my paraphrase).

  So it has been with Social Media. I have read reports for a few years that Social Media is on it's way out. Yet it continues, stronger than ever.  Like a living organism it simply evolves into something else when it has run it's course or popularity. We went from MySpace, to Facebook, to Twitter, to Pinterest in a few short years.  When Pinterest proved especially popular with women, new sites for men such as Manteresting and Dartit were created.

  It's obvious that Social Media in some form is here to stay. It may not be what it is right now, but it's not going away any time soon. Trinity has been exploring how to use Social Media not only to stay connected with our church family, but to use it as an outreach to people all over the world. 

  Those discussions have me wondering what is the appeal? How did Social media become so popular so fast?  I believe it's because we are made to be social creatures.  In the Book of Genesis we are told that humanity was created in the image of God, a God who in the Trinity lives in eternal relationship.  We were meant to live in relationship with others. Our souls will be satisfied with nothing less.

  Yet as our society becomes more private, more fractured we have lost the ability to have relationships. Consider how seldom in a week you have actual contact with a human being. Email doesn't count. As families connections begin to dissolve we find ourselves reaching out for someone, anyone. We've substituted "friendships" with people we don't know, or "follow" people under the false assumption we truly know them and they know us.  Some find affirmation not in meaningful relationship but in sheer numbers of friends or followers. Of course in the end these never satisfy the deep longings of our hearts.  I'm not suggesting that Social Media is bad, far from it. I am suggesting that we can't ask it to do more than it was created to do.

   But there is a relationship that can satisfy every longing and desire of our hearts. As we enter into the first week of Advent, let us never forget that the announcement of the Christ child in Matthew comes with the reminder that we shall call Him "Immanuel, which means God is with Us".  Jesus is not a God who stands far away from us, looking at us dispassionately. No. He loves us, walks with us, cares for us. He lives in the midst of every situation of our lives. He draws little children into His lap, walks on water to be with His friends, trods though the valley of the shadow of death with us.

    In the end, this is the relationship we have been looking for. When we draw near to the one who draws near to us, not only do we find our hearts satisfied, but life becomes balanced. We become better at having relationships as our relationships begin to mirror the one we have with Christ.

   As we celebrate Advent, let us never forget the nature of the one we call Immanuel. God is with you. He loves you  and desires to have a deep, meaningful relationship with you. The best way you can celebrate Advent today is to spend some time with Him.
In Christ,
Rev. Dr. Brian Jones