alarm clocks and smartphones

It's a common experience.  The plane lands, the captain welcomes you to the destination and suggests you adjust your watch to the new timezone.

The thing is, I don't wear a watch.  All I need to do once I've landed and the seatbelt sign is turned off is take my smartphone out of flight mode.  It picks up the signal pretty quickly and I immediately know what the time is where I've landed.

I'm not a big fan of keeping my smartphone next to my bed, but when I need to wake up at a designated time, it's far more reliable than the old digital alarm clock.  All it took was a flick in the power, or a kick of the lead, and the dreaded flashing red digits would confront my bleary eyes.

There's been a change in technology.  Rechargeable batteries and 4G networks mean I can tap into a signal beyond me and I'm not caught out by my self-regulated attempts at trying to keep synced with the world around me.

The disposition of an alarm clock is one of being separated - once it loses power, it needs some serious outside help to re-create the illusion that it's a reliable source for tracking the time.

The disposition of a smartphone is one of being connected - sure, it might be offline once in a while, but once the choice is made to sync in with the network, it doesn't take long for it to fulfil it's desired function.

This technology change shifts our experience from a default of separation to a default of connection.

I need a technology change - an 'upgrade' if you will.  Something on the inside needs to shift my settings from separation to connection.  From an isolated, manually driven, unreliable, indication of what it means to be human, to an interconnected and consistent reflection of true human experience.

Sure, my battery might still go flat, or I might put myself in flight mode once in a while - but to have a disposition of being "connected" - that is a compelling reality to pursue.

The more I reflect on the death to life story - the more I can see that this sort of internal technology shift has already been made available to us.

This shift promises a change in our disposition from separation to connection - being in sync with who God actually is and what He's doing in this world.  Jesus' death and resurrection is an invitation for us to live out the new disposition toward God, rather than living out a default setting that moves us away from Him.

Therefore, if anyone is united with the Anointed One, that person is a new creation. The old life is gone—and see—a new life has begun! - 2 Corinthians 5:17