Will Your Life Outlive the Internet?

“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship Him. They will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads. And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.” ~ Revelations 22:1-5

This is a beautiful picture that John painted in the last book of the Bible prophesying what the end will look like for believers. I was reading it this morning when the verse “They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever,” caught my attention. People used lamps back in that time, candlelit lamps, but since this is a prophesy about a time we haven’t even reached yet, what if John was unknowingly alluding to electricity as well? After all, there won’t be any need for electricity in its primary use, which is to generate light. Then I started to think of one of the other biggest things we use today that involves electricity: the internet. You HAVE to have electricity to reach the internet, either to charge your phones, or to charge your computers (duh).

But what would the world look like without the internet? No more instant communications with people who aren't standing next to us, no more pictures, no more fame. These are all things that won’t matter when we've reached eternity. We will have forever to communicate with people, forever to see beautiful things, and all people will be considered equal under the sovereignty of God. In this life, there are specific moments that stand out and we capture them in pictures to remember; but in eternity, every moment will be amazing and there will be no need for that. This sounds wonderful to some of you, I am sure, but others feel lost at the thought of no more screens to hide behind.

(These are portraits taken a week ago of me and my siblings on the land behind our great aunt's house)

Here is another thought: How much of your life are you living outside of your phone and the internet, and how much of that will be carried with you into eternity? Too much of our lives, even when off the internet, are concentrated on the internet. We start wearing clothes that we see popular people wearing on the internet, we consider what we will do each day to make our lives look picture perfect on the internet, we read good books just to post quotes on the internet, we make music for the internet, we make art for the internet, we write for the internet, we even do our “Bible Studies” for the internet (whether that’s to take a picture and make ourselves look good, or to post a verse that makes us feel extra religious compared to others). EVERYTHING IS EITHER ON OR FOR THE INTERNET.

“It was all a snare. Ink and catgut and paint were necessary down there, but they are also dangerous stimulants. Every poet and musician and artist, but for Grace, is drawn away from the love of the thing he tells, to love of telling till, down in Deep Hell, they cannot be interested in God at all but only in what they say about Him. For it doesn’t stop in being interested in paint, you know. They sink lower – become interested in their own personalities and then in nothing but their own reputation.” ~ C.S Lewis in his book, The Great Divorce

C.S Lewis’s quote sums it all up perfectly. We lose the love for what we do: art, music, writing, reading, life, and God Himself. What we begin to love is the telling and showing off of those things. Some are more extreme than others, but I believe that all of us who are on the internet are guilty of it. You are if you are reading this, and I am because I posted this FOR you to read. But my hope is that in me posting this for you to read, you will see the lie more clearly: Life IS NOT found on the internet. Maybe, just maybe, inspiration for life and information about life can be found there, but never life itself. The internet may seem eternal, but only souls were made for eternity. What will you have left to carry with you when the internet dies away?!

To begin living unattached to the internet, try using your phone in a way that it can go a couple of days without charging. Remove the screens from your eyes so that you may learn to see people face to face and look at God’s beautiful creation. Since it’s impossible to completely get off the internet in this day and age, use it (if you are a believer) to share things for the sake of witnessing to others and because you truly adore God, rather than empty adoration for the sake of the words used. Inspire and build up others with what you share about your own life, rather than weigh them down with your pride and “perfection.” When you truly begin to live, you will even see that some moments are too precious to be shared with others. Learn to know your Creator for the magnificent God He is, outside what is said about Him on the internet, and He will make you beautiful.