Glitchy Faith

One of the major employers in my locale is a global automobile manufacturer. My younger son is employed in their logistics department where various parts are moved from shipping areas to the production line. He describes it as an entire city of electronics similar to the machine world in The Matrix (1999) movies. Each person is responsible for ensuring that the whole runs like the proverbial well-oiled machine. Equipment failure or operator error can mean shutdown and time is money.

This is all fairly self evident in business, but isn’t the same true of faith? Unavoidable incidents do occur but responsible employees who show up to work each day prepared and attentive, well fed and rested mean each part moves forward at the appropriate time and vehicles are shipped out on schedule day after day. Still you can’t always control the outcome. This is essentially what the apostle Paul is teaching his young protege and son in the faith, Timothy.

“Timothy, my dear son, be strong through the grace that God gives you in Christ Jesus.

You have heard me teach things that have been confirmed by many reliable witnesses.

Now teach these truths to other trustworthy people who will be able to pass them on to others.

Gently instruct those who oppose the truth.

Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth.

Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap.

For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.”

2 Timothy 2:1-2, 25-26 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.2.1-26.NLT

In Israel’s history, repeated breakdown occurred. Lest we point fingers and assume an us and them attitude, remember Romans 3:23 says we “all sin and fall short of the glory of God.” Time and again in the Old Testament, we read a version of this same story.

“After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.”

Judges 2:10 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/jdg.2.10.NLT

So where was the breakdown occurring? Corporate analysts work tirelessly troubleshooting systems, reworking programs and routines, and retraining staff to avoid glitches that jeopardize productivity. Any highly automated system is dependent on the integrity of the machinery down to the nuts and bolts and on the programming language and the developers who write it. Ultimately, what is true in business is true in life and faith. We do not live in isolation. We affect and are affected by each other.

“But you, Timothy, certainly know what I teach, and how I live, and what my purpose in life is. You know my faith, my patience, my love, and my endurance.”

2 Timothy 3:10 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.3.10.NLT

Paul writes as a parent to a child in the faith, but one who has moved past simple discipleship into a leadership role of his own. The mentor has passed the mantle but continues to encourage young Timothy to remember his roots. I’ve had similar conversations with my children. You know me better than anyone else. You know what I believe. You see how I live my life under the authority of Christ, but there comes a point in every parent’s life when the mantle is passed and we stand in the wings watching and waiting, cheering and praying earnestly for the seeds we’ve planted to take root in good soil as God provides the growth. The ball is in Timothy’s court now.

“But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught.

You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you.

You have been taught the holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus.”

2 Timothy 3:14-15 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2ti.3.14-15.NLT

You’ve been given wisdom to receive salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus, but you’ve also been given free will by your Creator. I’ve always been an advocate of treating others at the level of their potential and they will usually rise to the occasion, but not always.

“After that generation died, another generation grew up who did not acknowledge the Lord or remember the mighty things he had done for Israel.” It’s easy to fault the parents for failure to pass the torch but that is ultimately no different than Jesus’s disciples asking who sinned that a man should be born blind, he or his parents? (John 9:2)

Jesus’s answer gives me hope.“It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.

We must quickly carry out the tasks assigned us by the one who sent us.

The night is coming, and then no one can work.

But while I am here in the world, I am the light of the world.””

John 9:3-5 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/jhn.9.3-5.NLT

A day of accountability is coming. It always does. When the line stops, someone or something is broken. Repair is necessary. The Bible says we are glitchy people living in a broken world. We all drift naturally toward brokenness, yet while we were still sinners, utterly helpless to save ourselves, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6,8) This is good news. This is the gospel.

“And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ.

And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.

For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them.

And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation.

So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us.

We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!””

2 Corinthians 5:18-20 NLT

https://bible.com/bible/116/2co.5.19-20.NLT