Derek Lang
The New Year is always a good time to think about the future. What will the future bring? One new technology, called Surface, is being introduced by Samsung and Microsoft. This technology is the next generation beyond touch screen tablets and involves devices that react to your motions. No longer will we need to press buttons, but rather this device will “see” and react to a wave of a hand or an expression on our face. Bill Buxton, a pioneer in human-computer interactions, was interviewed about future trends in Surface devices. He commented, “I want better interactions and reactions with my relation with these devices; therefore it has to know more information about me.”
Think about that for a moment. Right now, we struggle with fingers that are too big to touch an icon on the screen. Voice recognition software on phone menus direct us to the wrong department or repeated requests to voice our option over again. Now we will have computer screens that have to discern what it means if we raise a finger, wave a hand, or blink an eye. The more the computer knows about what those personal motions mean, the better it can react or respond to our requests.
His observation harkened back to a basic rule about relationships. In order to have a more effective interaction, we have to know each other more deeply. I need to know more about you, and you need to know more about me. The same is true in our relationship with God. That is why it is so important to pray, to worship, to read the Bible, and be in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. These things are not just motions we go through because we call ourselves Christian. Instead, these are ways in which we grow in our relationship with God. We learn how to listen more intently to hear what God is saying. We read more about how God acts in different situations. We see how God works through those around us. As we grow more intimately familiar with God, we can interact better with God. We learn what it means and how to respond when God moves in this direction or that direction. Our lives become more aligned with God.
I can just imagine child Jesus being presented to Simeon and Anna. He walks up to them, pulls out his iPhone, and gives it to them. He says to them, “Learn how to interact with this device and then you will just begin to learn what it means to be in relationship with me.” Fortunately, God does not treat us with such arrogance. But we do have to remember that we have a lot to learn about relationships with each other and with God.
Think about that for a moment. Right now, we struggle with fingers that are too big to touch an icon on the screen. Voice recognition software on phone menus direct us to the wrong department or repeated requests to voice our option over again. Now we will have computer screens that have to discern what it means if we raise a finger, wave a hand, or blink an eye. The more the computer knows about what those personal motions mean, the better it can react or respond to our requests.
His observation harkened back to a basic rule about relationships. In order to have a more effective interaction, we have to know each other more deeply. I need to know more about you, and you need to know more about me. The same is true in our relationship with God. That is why it is so important to pray, to worship, to read the Bible, and be in fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ. These things are not just motions we go through because we call ourselves Christian. Instead, these are ways in which we grow in our relationship with God. We learn how to listen more intently to hear what God is saying. We read more about how God acts in different situations. We see how God works through those around us. As we grow more intimately familiar with God, we can interact better with God. We learn what it means and how to respond when God moves in this direction or that direction. Our lives become more aligned with God.
I can just imagine child Jesus being presented to Simeon and Anna. He walks up to them, pulls out his iPhone, and gives it to them. He says to them, “Learn how to interact with this device and then you will just begin to learn what it means to be in relationship with me.” Fortunately, God does not treat us with such arrogance. But we do have to remember that we have a lot to learn about relationships with each other and with God.