Facebook and the Image of God

Ever wonder about the appeal of Facebook and other web-based social networks? Why would millions of people all over the world want to plaster their names and faces, their likes and dislikes, and their current physical, emotional, or spiritual status all over the worldwide web? I confess I am one of them. I started my own Facebook "profile" and began collecting "friends" several years ago when I realized it was the best way to keep up with the college students to whom I was pastor. But in recent months, I've begun to reconnect with people that I haven't seen or talked to in twenty years. Friends from high school and college, folks in their forties like me, have begun to discover Facebook as a way to get in touch with old friends and stay in touch with current ones.

There are plenty of pundits who are wary of this trend, claiming that this is another symptom of the narcissism this generation has apparently contracted. I can't disagree entirely with this theory, but I'd like to suggest that the Facebook phenomenon may have as much to do with human design as it does with human depravity.

There's at least one lesson we can learn from the Facebook craze: We all long to know and be known by others. Yes, at their worst these social network sites can be a mild (sometimes not so mild) form of exhibitionism, but when you get right down to it people just want to be known. I want the people in my world to know me, so I post pictures of my family because they are part of me. I list the books I've read because they have shaped me. I share my favorite quotes because they tell others what I value and believe. I update my status so that others know where I am...literally and figuratively. I want to be known. And I'm not alone.

It is also true that at their worst social network sites can encourage and enable virtual voyeurism. Some people spend too much time following the lives of other people. But let's face it, all of us are fascinated with people aren't we? Ever done some "people-watching" while you're waiting for a plane? And why do we tend to collect so many "friends," and what about that good feeling you get when someone invites you to be their Facebook friend? I want to know others, and so do you.

Certainly my desire to know and be known by others can become obsessive and get out of proportion, but I'm curious to know why the desire is there at all.

I believe it's because I was made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). God wants to know and be known by others. Self-revealing and other-relating are part of the nature of who God is. In his helpful little book concerning the street-level impact of the doctrine of the Trinity, Experiencing the Trinity, Darrell W. Johnson writes:

'At the center of the universe is a relationship.' That is the most fundamental truth I know. At the center of the universe is a community. It is out of that relationship that you and I were created and redeemed. And it is for that relationship that you and I were created and redeeemed! And it turns out that there is a three-fold-ness to that relationship. It turns out that the community is a Trinity. The center of reality is Father, Son, and Holy Spirit...the doctrine of the the Trinity is not the result of philosophical speculation carried out in ivory towers, cut off from real life. It is the result of ordinary believers trying to make sense of the facts of God's self-revelation--and trying to live in the light of those facts (pp. 37, 39).

Johnson goes on to talk about one of the "everyday consequences" of the doctrine of the Trinity:

First, we know why when relationships go sour, all of life goes sour. We were created in the image and likeness of God...There are many dimensions of God's character we were created to reflect. But chief among them is this 'us-ness' of God. God does not exist alone; and neither do we who are created in God's image. Thus God says of Adam in the garden, 'it is not good for the man to be alone' (Genesis 2:18). Why? Because Adam will be lonely, yes. But more importantly because 'Adam alone' is not Adam in the image of God. God is not a solitary God. Adam does not reflect who God is until Adam shares life with Eve...It is because we are created in the image of the Trinity that loneliness is so crushing, that broken relationships are so debilitating, that death is so painful. Lack of loss of relationship violates our essential nature, created to reflect the relational essence of God (pp. 52-53).

Our longing to know others and be known by them is part of our human design that has been twisted by our human depravity. Our involvement in the Facebook community is a reflection of our design for community, but when Facebook becomes a source of knowing and being known that takes precedence over community with the Trinity and unity with His Church (John 17) , then our Facebook-ing is more a reflection of our depravity.

One last thought: God has His own Facebook profile. If you want, you can go there and see the ways in which God has made Himself known to us and through which we are able to know Him as our friend: through Creation (Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:19-20), through the Bible (Psalm 19:7-11, 2 Peter 1:16-21), and most clearly and intimately through Jesus Christ's person (Hebrews 1:1-3, 2 Corinthians 4:3-6) and people (John 17:20-23, 1 John 4:11-12).

We desire to know and be known because He first desired to know and be known.

The Bible: Story or Systematic Theology?

Are we to read the Bible as a story or as a systematic theology? It depends on whom you ask. The "emergent" types will emphasize the narrative character of God's Word and some will eschew any approach to the Bible that systematizes its teaching into categories or creeds. On the other side of the table the "traditionalists" will fend for the faith by emphasizing doctrinal purity and a passion for propositional truth while sometimes missing the dramatic forest for the didactic trees.

I often find myself defending one view or the other. When talking with those who over-emphasize doctrine, I remember how I lost the big picture of God's story while immersed in doctrine during my seminary days. When talking with those who bad-mouth theology and down-play doctrine, I am reminded that the New Testament is loaded with the stuff (see Romans) and that the early Christians were devoted to it (Acts 2:42).

Lately, I've found two sources that have helped me understand that God's revelation is a theological story...both/and, not either/or:

First, in a talk available at Resurgence.com, Tim Keller uses an illustration that has helped resolve this tension for me. He refers to J. R. R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings trilogy as an example of a story that has such rich depth that it is enhanced (not inhibited) by encyclopedic tools. For example, on my bookshelf at home I have the three volume paperback version of the LOTR triology. Sitting next to those volumes is a one volume paperback edition of The Complete Guide to Middle Earth. A quick search on Amazon.com reveals a myriad of resources that systematize information gleaned from the LOTR story as well as Tolkein's other tales from Middle Earth. These guides help me engage and enjoy the story more than I would if I only read the story. But at the same time, these encyclopedias, dictionaries and atlases would have little impact if I neglected the bigger picture of the whole story.

In his lecture (which is well worth listening to), Keller describes two ways of reading the Bible. When we read the Bible diachronically, we read the text "along the chronos...along the timeline of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, in which case the Gospel (read diachronically) is: Creation, Fall, Redemption, Restoration." We might also read the Bible synchroncially that is "across the grain...you can look at it topically: what does the Bible say about God?...about sin?"...etc. If you read the Bible in this way, says Keller, "the Gospel is: God, Sin, Christ, Faith, not works." Keller argues that "you've got to read the Bible both ways."

I recently found a second confirmation of this "both/and" view in Paul David Tripp's new book A Quest for More: Living for something bigger than you:

The Bible is essentially a narrative, a story. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that the Bible is a theologically annotated story. It is a story with notes for the reader's understanding...

The way the Bible is organized is that the main body of the content is the unfolding drama of the story of redemption. But as I said before, it is a story with notes. On one side of the narrative are propositions. In the propositions, the great themes of the story are distilled down into universal truth statements. The purpose of these statements is to help you understand the plot of the story.

On the other side of the narrative are principles. The principles apply the story to the situations and relationships of everyday life. The purpose of the principles is to help you know what it looks like to live within the plot of God's story.

We need to read and preach and teach the Bible as a narrative-with-notes that helps us to more deeply love and live in "the old, old Story of Jesus and His love."

UPDATE: Another helpful thought along these lines can be found here.

As A Puppy Watches His Master's Hand

To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens! Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maidservant to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he has mercy upon us. Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us, for we have had more than enough of contempt. Our soul has had more than enough of the scorn of those who are at ease, of the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 123 (ESV)

Whenever I read Psalm 123 I can’t help but think of our miniature dachshund, Luther. Two things will cause Luther to fix his eyes on my hands with laser beam focus: a toy to fetch and a treat to eat. When we play fetch, Luther never takes his eyes off of my hands until they launch the rope or ball. Then he runs full speed in the direction my hand moves to toss the toy. When Luther knows that I have a treat, he locks my hand in his sights, waiting for the good stuff to be delivered. As a puppy’s eyes are fixed on his master’s hand, anticipating a command or even a cookie, so I long to look to the hand of my Master, to receive His bidding as well as His blessing.

Like Luther, I want my eyes riveted on my Master’s hands, waiting to move in the direction He gestures, waiting for morsels of mercy to fall. I want to be a servant who watches and waits for his Master’s every move and mercy. I want to be ready to serve Him, accomplishing whatever He wills for me to do. But I also stand ready to receive mercy from His hand whenever He is pleased to give it. I must watch and wait for His hand to point me toward His will, to send me out to accomplish some task or pursue some relationship that will further the advancement of His Kingdom. But I desperately need His mercy in order to move.

I must anxiously look to Jesus’ nail-pierced hands for the undeserved kindness that provides the resources, both spiritual and physical, that I will need to accomplish His mission. I need to look to Jesus, who has lived and died in my place, has been raised to new life, and is now seated next to His Father “enthroned in the heavens.” From there He is subduing enemies who scorned Him with arrogant contempt and even now are harassing me. United with Christ by faith, I am seated with Him there in the heavenlies. Thanks be to God! Holy Spirit, fasten my eyes on Christ, on His nail-pierced hands, that I might run at His command and receive mercy for the mission.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord. Have mercy upon us!

"Am I Enough For You, Thirsty One?"

I'm a church planter. I send out prayer letters. It's tempting in these newsletters to "hype" what's happening at Riverside, trying to put our best foot forward. After all, everybody wants to know they've prayed for something that's successful, right? Well, we're learning that sucess in God's eyes has more to do with how much we grow in Christ-likeness than with how fast we grow our numbers. These lessons don't come without some heart ache and a few soul-searching moments. Here's one I experienced last Fall:

During a recent twenty-four hour silent retreat, I brought the questions of my thirsty soul to God. I took a long walk throughout that mountain retreat center and spent considerable time looking into the crisp, clear October night sky. Without the usual glow of artificial light to conceal what is real, I saw stars and constellations I barely knew existed. “I just want to know what’s going to happen,” I complained. “Is this church plant going to make it? What have I gotten us into?” I whined to God like the people of Israel moaned to Moses in the desert. “Have I invited these people to follow me into the desert to die of thirst? Would you have us start Riverside Church just to see it dry up in a matter of months?” I waited for an answer from heaven, but it seemed there was no reply written on the night sky.

After an awkward silence, God answered me with a picture. All at once my eye was drawn to the Big Dipper constellation, and the Lord turned the questions on me. “Do you see how big this dipper is? If it was full of water, would it be enough for your thirst? Am I enough for you, thirsty one? No matter what the future holds, will I be enough for you?” (When the answers to my questions come in the form of questions, I know I’m probably hearing from Jesus. He was prone to pose questions to those who put questions to Him.) Before I could answer, He continued, “Yes, I am enough for you. I will be your supply.” As I gazed at the stars that night, the Lord reminded me that He would be my Big Dipper, and that no matter what season of drought may come, He would be my supply.

In what dry place are you crying out to God with a thirsty heart? He'd like to know, "Am I enough for you, thirsty one?" He'd like you to know, "I Am."

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