Andrew and Lisa

I see people all over the place wearing these new bluetooth headsets. You know, the kind that lets you talk on your cell phone without having to be connected to it via a wire. Those things are pretty neat, but there are downsides to them, too. When I talk with someone who is wearing one, I can never tell whether they’re on the phone.

Our prayer life should be like that, as well. Several times in the Paul’s epistles, he tells his readers (and by extension, us) to pray ceaselessly. Praying ceaselessly doesn’t have to mean that you’re always walking around with your eyes closed or constantly muttering under your breath or moving your lips (unless you want to scare the people around you), but your mind should be continually ready to jump to prayer, to bring everything to God. Keep your spiritual bluetooth headset on so that you can be ready to pray about everything. And next time you see someone wearing one of those headsets, let it remind you to pray!

I’ve always assumed that as Christians, when we grow in age, we also grow in grace. Lots of recent empirical evidence contradicts this notion this very strongly. Throwing aside this fundamental assumption really throws into question for me the nature of spiritual growth. Will I be mean when I’m older? Is this why people stick their older relatives in care facilities and never visit them? Is living long really a blessing, or just one long chance to be bitter? I’ve never had so many unpleasant conversations in the course of two months, and they’re all with people who are older than 65 or 70. I’m really not sure what to think about that.

I’ve been reflecting lately on the power of a good story. I’ve consumed several lately, as I’ve been listening to The Chronicles of Narnia on my iPod. While I stood in church Sunday morning, I found it easier to reflect on particular qualities of God’s nature because of my recent familiarity with Aslan, the Christ-type figure in C.S. Lewis’s wonderful series. And when we sing Matt Redman’s anthem-like song, “Never Let Go”, I can’t help but think back to the movie, “The Guardian”, in which that phrase is a foundation of the story. These stories help me to know about God, to synthesize the world in more meaningful ways. Take some time this week and look for a good story. Don’t let the story end with the last page, but bring it into your life and world. Let a good story make an impact on the way you see, and let it direct the eyes of your consciousness heavenward.