"Oh, it's easy," he said

Yesterday, I participated in my first webinar. I’d like to say it was a snap, but in fact, the day was fraught with technical snafus. It was a day of “learning opportunities.” People my age are having increasing difficulty keeping up with new technologies. Last week I had breakfast with a millennial (the generation under 30) and mentioned I had been putting off getting a ‘smart’ phone because I didn’t have the time nor did I want to deal with the stress of learning how to use a new device. His answer was the typical “Oh, it’s easy.” (I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard that one.) Last year when I bought a new DVD/VCR player, I asked the young (aren’t they all!) geek at Best Buy, “is it easy to set up?” “Oh, yes,” he responded; “I sold one to an 80-year old lady last week and she went home and set it up right away with no problems.” (How many people did he tell that story to!?) When I got home and opened the box, and found a 40-page instruction manual, I nearly wept.

But, not unlike our spiritual journey, we have no choice but to go forward. To stand still is to regress. To stop trying is to lose ground, or worse, lose the race. No, we have no choice. We must keep moving—and not aimlessly, but deliberately and progressively. That of course, requires endurance, as Paul says, so we can receive the things God has promised, (Heb. 10:36)—followed by these disquieting words: “And if you shrink back (stand still, stop trying, give up), I [God] will not be pleased with you." "But I know," Paul goes on to say, that "you are not those who will shrink back and be destroyed, but you are those who persevere to the salvation of the soul. (Heb. 10:38-39).