I love apple computers. There are lots of reasons for this, but I think that it the greatest reason is that they work. They are the best designed computers in the world. A recent book called iCon quotes Steve jobs as saying, “Design is a funny word. Some people think design means how it looks. But, of course, if you dig deeper, it’s really how it works. To design something really well, you have to ‘get it.’ You have to really [passionately grasp] what it’s all about.” Steve continued, “It takes passionate commitment to really thoroughly understand something… Most people don’t take the time to do that (iCon page: 280 – 281).” I think that this is a really profound statement. So often as Christians and Americans we want to simplify everything, but we want to do it without the work of truly understanding the complexity of it first. We simplify a worship service, but in the process lose something essential to the Mystery and Glory of God. We simplify the gospel into a series of four propositional truths, and somehow even though all the words are true, the heart of the Gospel is lost. Instead of a mystery, it becomes a sales pitch. It expresses an answer instead of a question, or an arrival, instead of a journey. I understand why we do this. People no longer have patience for complicated, hard to comprehend thoughts. Whether dealing with electronic gadgets, keynote presentations, or business propositions, good content without simple elegant delivery is not heard in our culture. Yet, I worry that we are more worried about presentation to the world, than in personally owning the truths for ourselves. Am I passionately committed to really reading the Bible and learning to hear his voice, even if it breaks out of my simple categories, and renders my slogans useless? Do I even know what the slogans mean any more..?
(pictures from www.apple.com)
