Cellphones and Scripture

Nicole and I did a bit of post-Christmas shopping last Saturday and found ourselves battling a fresh layer of snow as we returned home. Night had fallen and I struggled to see through our ice encrusted windshield as I pulled into the driveway. I gave the car a little extra gas and pushed it over the potholes, past the little patch of trees, and up the side of the knoll toward the house. As I did, the headlights reflected against the side of our other car. It was stuck at a sixty degree angle in the middle of the driveway with its rear wheels encased in snow and ice. And leaning against the car was a very cold-looking Grace.

We rolled to a stop and opened our doors as Grace trudged toward us. “Dad,” she cried, “why didn’t you answer your phone? I’ve called and called.”

My phone. As soon as I heard those words, I had that strange ‘sixth-sense’ feeling that something wasn’t right. I jammed my hand into my pocket and, sure enough, the phone was gone. This led to several minutes of frantic searching until, finally, reluctantly, I accepted the awful reality… I had lost my phone. Aaaaggggghhh!

I retraced my steps, but unfortunately the afternoon had included some snow shoveling at the church, a couple of stops on ice-and-snow-filled streets, and several stops at local shops. There was too much snow and too many stops. And after pushing through several knee-high snowdrifts, I had to accept that the phone was gone. It had, most likely, slipped from my pocket into the snow and been covered. It might not be seen again until the spring thaw.

That phone was not a fancy one. It was not a smartphone, and it didn’t have a bunch of games, music and business apps on it. But it did have all my contacts and phone numbers on it. And what a loss that proved! I couldn’t remember a single number. I guess that’s what happens when you routinely choose a name from your contact list and press send.

So I didn’t have any of those numbers. I did not even know Nicole’s cellphone number. All I knew is that it was “2” on my speed-dial. Wow. That’s pathetic. And, on top of that, somewhere out there, under the snow, my phone was still doing its job, receiving and recording messages. I scheduled myself a daily appointment to call the cell and retrieve my messages.

This got me thinking about the role of communication devices in our lives, and it led me, circuitously, to consider the role of Scripture in our spiritual lives. Most of us would not consider leaving home these days without a cell phone. We carry them wherever we go and we rely on them constantly. We trust them to enable us to talk with others and to hear from them. And we do not realize the extent to which we rely on them until we are forced to go without them. But when we lose them, we feel cut off, disconnected.

The Scriptures are God’s Written Word to us, and they are the primary means the Holy Spirit uses in communicating with us. In them, we hear God’s voice, learn His character, and discern His purposes for our lives. They are an essential and divine tool of communication between Him and us.

And yet, it seems, some Christians feel comfortable leaving the Scriptures behind, literally and figuratively. How many Christians have gone through an entire week, arrived at Sunday morning and searched for their Bibles, only to discover they had left them at church the previous Sunday? Quite a few. I’ve seen many of these Bibles at churches throughout the years. But even more thought-provoking is the possibility that many Christians might be leaving behind the Scriptures in a figurative sense. How many Christians go through the week without considering the words of the Scriptures, without meditating upon the precepts of God? Some? Many?

Without wishing to belabor the metaphor, let me observe that neglecting the Scriptures during the week is like failing to answer one’s cell phone or check one’s voicemail over an extended period of time. The messages pile up, and it becomes more and more difficult to work through them and act on them. When we neglect the Scriptures we deprive ourselves from the ‘constant contact’ (hmm) with our Creator for which we were created.

As you consider this, I hope you will be reminded of the importance of daily, continual immersion in the Scriptures. I encourage you to cling to the Scriptures, even more than your cellphone. Find a way to soak in the Word of God. Read it. Meditate on it. Memorize it. Live it.

And, by the way, I do have an ulterior motive in mentioning my phone. If you have tried to reach me, and I did not answer right away, now you know why. And… if anyone happens to have an old non-smartphone lying around and are willing to let me use it, that would be awesome. J Thanks.