I was just on Facebook and saw the following:
I had an immediate reaction to it: Is that really all it takes? Is that really all to which He calls us? Jesus loves us, so our responsibility is to “like” Him on Facebook? That makes sense…(please note my sarcasm).
Now, please, if you have God, Jesus, the Bible, etc., etc., listed on your interests section or on your info page, I’m not saying you’re wrong or anything of the kind. I’m simply asking, has social media made it “easier” to “be a Christian”?
Think about it:
- We click our “religious beliefs” on our website, and personally-speaking, I now say the actual words, “I am a Christian” very seldom to new friends or acquaintances. Because of course, the first thing you do after meeting someone is add them as a friend and they will certainly do a fair amount of “Facebook stalking” for themselves.
- We tweet the verse that we really like for the day on our Twitter account.
- We blog (and I realize the irony here) about what God has taught us, instead of having a conversation with a couple of friends over coffee.
- Like I already mentioned, we can click “like” to anything and everything Christian, and no one ever questions it.
- We answer the conviction to share our faith with our real-life friend by posting something “Christian” on our walls.
I am just concerned that clicking “Christian” on your FB info page becomes the new lie of the hater of our souls, “Of course, you’re a Christian–it’s not like you hate Jesus! You put Him on your FB page, for cryin’ out loud. You’re fine.” Similar to the lie that says, “Just go to church, you’ll be fine. That’s enough.” As I typed those words just then, I believe I summed up my fear of social media regarding our walks with Jesus: that we would think that attaching Him to our websites and tweets is enough.
PLEASE do not hear me saying that we shouldn’t do all those things I mentioned in the list above–obviously, since I’m still blogging and I’ll continue to use my Twitter and Facebook accounts. We just need to be aware that “liking” Jesus on Facebook is not enough to sustain a victorious life with God, in Christ, through the power of the Spirit.
This God-man, Jesus, bids us come and die, as the old hymn says.
He tells us to “take up our cross” and follow Him (Luke 9:23).
Paul exhorts us to “count everything as loss for the sake of Christ” (Philippians 3:7-11).
“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us” (Galatians 3:13). Dive head-first into that glorious Gospel and love for a Savior will grow as naturally as apples on an apple tree.
Are you depending on your social media as your “Christian-gauge”? Repent, dear friend. We find life in the Gospel alone. No click of a button or strike of a keyboard will ever replace it.
LOVE.
