“O2 have to talk to people”

Millions of O2 customers yesterday were left without mobile Internet. As parts of network were restored on Thursday evening people reported how difficult their morning commute into work had proved without the use of technology. Many commented on social media how they had struggled to make eye contact with people; others reported feeling paralysed by fear at the prospect of talking to someone else. Albert Einstein, spoke almost prophetically about the danger of becoming reliant on technology “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity.” 

As human beings we are made to be in relationship with others, to communicate to share information and knowledge. Of course we have become very sophisticated at communicating through the use of technology, but for me there is nothing better than writing a letter or speaking to someone face to face. How many of us have visited a restaurant recently and sat looking at our mobile phone rather than speaking to the person or people we have chosen to eat with. Or walked down the road looking at our messages rather than being aware of what’s happening around us.

Life has become quite complicated and sometimes the simple messages can pass us by. Take the Christmas story for example.

In this familiar story we read that the first people to hear the good news of Jesus’ birth were the shepherds. We read in Luke 2:10-12:

“But the angel said to them, ’Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Saviour has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger’“

God in his infinite wisdom entrusted the most important message to the lowly, uneducated, simple shepherds. On seeing the angel the shepherds were humbled and amazed, they simply couldn’t keep the news to themselves and immediately went to tell others the good news of Jesus’ birth. 2,000 years on God chooses to communicate his message of love through ordinary everyday people – His church. As people explore the birth and life of Jesus they discover it is an incredible story of love, intrigue, betrayal, and of the ultimate sacrifice.

With only a few weeks to go until Christmas perhaps we can take time to discover or rediscover how God through His son Jesus wants to have a personal relationship with us. He longs for more days when O2 networks are down so that we may take time to talk to Him and in the words of Psalm 121 “ lift our eyes to the mountains and discover that our help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth^.”