If you own a smartphone, you know there are three major operating systems: Apple iOS, Android, and BlackBerry. Which "flavor" of smartphone you have isn't important here. What we're focusing on is that the reason the Kingdom of Heaven is like a smartphone is that it can't operate unless Jesus is the operating system.
This may seem like a "duh" statement to you, but hear me out. Let's take a look at what the operating system does:
- The operating system controls the hardware of the phone. (camera, wifi and cell antennae, touchscreen, etc.)
- The phone cannot operate without it, and it can't be uninstalled, like an App can.
- Apps "talk" to the operating system in order to use the phone's hardware. (i.e. the GPS App)
So, about the hardware. In life, the hardware is your body. Simple enough, right? The problem is, we have a virus infecting the system, called "self." We try to undermine the operating system in order to control the hardware to do our own bidding, and not that of the true command and control system. When we choose our own desires over what we know God would have us to do, it's like a virus or hacker taking over our phone and making it call or text someone we didn't intend and saying something that isn't true. And while computers have antivirus programs, the best option for a smartphone is a factory reset--completely undoing everything that has been done and handing control back over to the operating system, the way it was originally intended. We do that with repentance: coming to God, confessing our sins, and choosing his will over again.
I debated putting this one first, but I felt that it was essential to understand the relationship between hardware and operating system before we got into this second aspect. Let's pretend, for the purpose of our discussion, that our smartphone is an iPhone (simply because it is the one with which I am most familiar. I'm not here to say iOS is better than Android or anything else). The operating system for an iPhone is iOS. It contains the instructions needed to make a call, send a text, turn on the camera, lock the screen, etc. Take that away, and you essentially have a several hundred dollar paperweight. Have you ever heard of someone "bricking" their phone? It's when they tried to hack or change the operating system in a way it wasn't designed to be done, and it just stopped working completely. That's my point, here. The phone can't make a call, send a text, turn on, or even take a charge without the operating system in place and working properly. I realize this isn't the case with older phones, but we're not addressing them here. Christian life, indeed life period, is like this. Without Jesus as our source, as our way of interacting with the world, we're useless. Jesus said himself that "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing," (John 15:5, my emphasis). But, conversely, with the operating system in place and working as it should, "with God all things are possible," (Matthew 19:26, emphasis mine).
Lastly, let's take care of the way apps work with the operating system. At the time of writing, there are over half a million apps in the App Store, and about the same number in the Android Market. The possibilities there are pretty high, but there is literally NO LIMIT to what we can accomplish with Jesus as the way in which we live our lives. The problem I've seen, especially in my own life, is that we treat Jesus, his word, and the Spirit inside of us as Apps. Things to add on to our own, broken operating system. God keeps reminding me that if I will set him as the source of my life, if I'll set him up as the way through I interact with the world, I could accomplish anything. I don't pretend to do this perfectly, but I'm moving toward uninstalling the virus of "me," and completely changing the way my life works by letting God have control. The way you would do that with a smart phone would be to connect it to a computer, connected to the company the operating system came from (in our case, Apple,) and remove absolutely EVERYTHING that is on the phone, then put the real operating system back in place, with nothing in the way. From this base, you can install apps, make calls, and use the phone as it was intended to be. With us, it's not so different. The idea is to plug in to the word and presence of Jesus, have him remove everything that isn't him, and then fill everything back up with his life and identity, so we can operate in the way we were originally designed. And this isn't just a one time thing. I've had to factory restore my smartphone several times since I've owned one, and we as humans are even more prone to errors, and have to constantly be refreshed with a new copy with the operating system by reading and resting in his presence.
So, there you have it. The Kingdom of Heaven is like a Smartphone. Any questions or comments? Burning sensations? Good gossip? Just kidding about the gossip. Let me know what you think!
I may not have it all figured out, but I do say what I think. If you have any questions about faith in Jesus, don't hesitate to email me. It's my job to help you out. Have an idea for me? Let me know in the comments! If you see any spelling/grammatical errors, PLEASE let me know in a comment. I expect others to use correct English, so I should too. Twitter:@GetItReallyReal Please subscribe and/or share.
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