His grace is stronger.
Scripture touches all areas of our life, including this battle with how we use technology.
In his letter to the Romans, Paul speaks about his own battle with sin. He expresses a frustration to which we can all relate: “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do” (Romans 7:15). We are all sinners. “There is no one righteous, not one” (Romans 3:10). As long as we live in this world, we will battle against our sinful nature. But Paul points us to the source of our help, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!” (Romans 7:24-25).
Many of us may realize the pull that technology has on us and feel the weight of our guilt because of the wasted time.
But like Paul says, Jesus is our rescuer. He came to redeem us from each and every sin, including the squandering away of our time on the iPhone. His perfect life has become ours. His sacrificial death paid our debt in full.
What this means is that the work of Christ is sufficient and complete to cover all our sins and empower our fight in the struggle.
Every time we fail and stumble in this battle against sin, we need to return to the gospel over and over again. Though the pull of sin is strong, and though technology tempts us with its false claims of affirmation, success and importance, the power of God’s grace is stronger.
It is his grace that saves us from the power of sin and it is his grace that saves us from the presence of sin in our daily lives.
The cross stands there for us, not as a one-time source for forgiveness and assurance of eternal salvation, but also as a source of grace for each moment of our days. And as we turn from our sin in repentance, we can respond in thanksgiving to our gracious God because though we are more sinful than we ever thought, we are also more loved and more forgiven than we will ever know.
You know it and I know it, there are more important things in our life than what our computers and phones and online platforms have to offer. As we seek to redeem our time for eternity, we must rest in the grace of Christ and cling to this promise: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6).
