Virtual Communion and Witness

It’s a favorite theme of mine: Don’t take yourself too seriously. We are all for the most part simply along for the ride in God’s revelation of Himself. In His measureless mercy and grace, He allows us to participate in small ways. When Scripture refers to us as vessels for His cleansing flow, it means He can pour us out at His discretion. We are not vending machines with internal controls that allow us to charge for the privilege of parceling out His blessings.

Thus, we are taught not to judge the worthiness of others on the basis of our human perceptions. The nice thing about the Internet is how it strips away so much of what fallible humans have used in the past to restrict human communion. This is a two-edged sword, of course. We are obliged to pay more attention to those few factors that do come across and shape our Internet persona, but it also makes it easier to ignore things we should in the first place.

This changes the meaning of social charisma. It demands a whole new range of social skills. It raises up a new class of social elite who are able to make the most of what the Internet permits in terms of touching others’ lives. By the same token it creates a new class of social outcasts as those not adept at working this different social structure. This is reality, though we often call it “virtual reality.” Still, the effect on human existence is much the same.

Just as there have been subcultures in meat space, so they will manifest in virtual space. You can be just as provincial and ignorant on the Net as people have been in the real world. God can still use anyone He chooses. What has changed is that some elements of how we form our self-image no longer apply, and new elements have been added. The difficulty is that we are living in two parallel realms of existence. Not two different levels, but two different kinds on the same basic level.

It’s the failure to grasp that basic fact that destroys our witness on the Net. It’s bad enough that whole eras of Christian history have seen believers trapped in a false understanding of reality as God revealed it. We now have twice the liability from false assumptions. While our meat space reality is ruled by the character of God, regardless how well you do or don’t understand His revelation, the Net has yet another expression of His moral character. Western Christians have really missed out on the lion’s share of God’s blessings by insisting on a whole range of false assumptions about reality as God made it. Now we have the added failures of people who drag their bad meat space assumptions into virtual reality for a whole new set of missed blessings.

The single greatest barrier in both meat space and virtual space is refusing let God pour out our witness. You can’t be filled afresh if you don’t let Him use what you have now. It’s not that we can all run out and be wholly cosmopolitan in the sense of the mindless “diversity” proposed by Social Justice Warriors. God made us to operate in tribes, and a tribal identity is critical to functioning in this world, but the biggest problem in Western Christianity is focusing on all the wrong elements of human nature for constructing our tribal identity. Don’t add to those mistakes by doing even worse on the Net. None of us is called the shepherd the whole human race; we have our own flock, as it were. Stop grabbing at sheep that don’t recognize your voice.

If your heart should rule over your mind in meat space, even more so should it rule in virtual space. The Internet does yield to heart-mind operations. Would you believe that the same heart-led communion our Sister Wildcucumber experiences in nature is possible with technology? The only reason I get repeat calls from the same computer ministry clients is not because I work for free, and certainly not because I’m such a great technician, but because the Lord allows me to see and understand things my rational mind could not comprehend by itself. Just as elements in the flora and fauna call out to Sister Wildcucumber, so the modern technology often calls out to my heart-mind why something isn’t working right. I get stuff right far beyond my intellectual capabilities with computer tech support as well as other fields of human activity to which God has called me.

It works the same for you, regardless of your awareness. The one thing we can all share is the same personal witness of how God works with us, mostly because of the fact itself that He works with anyone who seeks His face. Give Him room to glorify Himself in you.

You might get a strong impression about my personality if you were to spend time with me in meat space. It’s not the same personality you’ll see in my Net persona, though the two will converge over time and with greater exposure. It’s not a question of whether I’m the same guy in both realms, as if there might be some element of dishonesty. Even to the degree I might be hiding anything, there’s nothing you can do about it — and this is entirely reciprocal. Indeed, we hide things from ourselves, so how much do you really want to make of it? Take what you can discern of me however it is you are wired to perceive. Do the same with everyone on the Net. There is no such thing as objective truth in either realm of existence. This is only God’s perception and however much of His viewpoint He can hammer through our fallen nature.

If you sense a calling from God to walk this path with me, then let’s learn how to commune via the Net. Let’s take what God offers in the way He offers it here. And by all means, take the time to communicate, because that’s part of communion. I tend to believe you get a better version of “me” on the Net. That I might have some measure of charisma in meat space is not the point; the extra filtering of this medium allows me to do a better job of getting my flesh out of the way so His glory shines brighter. He will do the same for you, so stop hiding behind your false fears. Trust Him and share a word or two, because data is the sole treasure of the Internet.