We often hear people talk about these younger adults and teenagers as a "Microwave Generation" - appealing to the idea that young people only seek immediate gratification, and that if they have to wait for something to have it, there is no point in having it whatsoever.

With the vast advances in technology, everything is at our very fingertips - finding information that once took hours or even days, can now be found in seconds. We also have apps for almost everything; if we want to know a good restaurant - there is an app for that; if we need a ride to that restaurant - there is an app for that; if we want that food brought to us instead of us going out, there is even an app for that. Technology has brought so many great benefits, but sadly, that is not all it has brought.

Matthew Dowd, a political analyst, came to visit Dallas Baptist University and spoke about the changing culture in America. One thing he said (paraphrased) is that although technology was meant to bring us closer with people, we have grown farther from those closest to us. He also mentioned that technology was meant to bring us closer to truth with more access to information, but we have in fact grown further from the truth and only find true the sources most relevant to our innate biases. Truth is progressively becoming more and more relevant rather than objective. Christians have become more divided than ever - many merely claiming to believe in God, but taking no action steps to follow His Son. Jesus has now become a genie - I make a wish, and if He loves me, He will make it come true, but if that wish does not come true, then how could He possibly love me?

We must be careful not to let our culture dictate our God. God is not what we make Him for He is not of our culture - He is above culture. And as Christians we are not called to be influenced by the culture, rather we are called to go out into the culture and assist in the process of the redeeming both it and its people to God.

However, before we do that - we must know the God that we are serving and address the question of relativism in regards to truth. Numbers 23:19 tells us:

"God is not man, that he should lie,
or a son of man, that he should change his mind.
Has he said, and will he not do it?
Or has he spoken, and will he not fulfill it?"

And Isaiah 40:8 says:

"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our God will stand forever."

There are many more verses that address this issue, but simply put - God does not change and neither does His word. The danger we face is when we begin to make our relationship with Him one where He follows us rather than one where we follow Him. The objectiveness of His truth (all truth) is meant to guide us toward relationship with Him - therefore if we make His truth relevant rather than objective, we are simply following an empty philosophy in place of a wise God.

So what is our relationship with Jesus supposed to look like? Mark explains this to us plainly:

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people" (Mark 1:17)

Our relationship with Jesus is not meant to be a genie in a bottle kind of relationship - rather one where we continually follow Him and share His word. But before I continue, let me clarify - our relationship with Jesus is not one of dread and remorse - never getting anything we want in life. In Jesus, there is freedom. Jesus wants us to follow Him and yield our will to that of our Heavenly Father - but we cannot forget that Jesus IS the embodiment of love. God does love every single one of us and so often blesses us with gifts of all sorts and gives us His favor as we pursue Him.

I think Mark Batterson clarifies this point very well in the devotional he titled, Draw the Circle - "But God will test us to make sure the gift isn't more important than the Gift Giver, the dream isn't more important to us than the Dream Giver. He'll test us to make sure it's not an idol." God wants our hearts to be focused on Him - and we do that through our pursuit of Him (studying of His Word and prayer) and our obedience to Him.

It seems as though obedience is becoming less and less relevant in the church. But we cannot forget the words of Jesus in John 14, verse 15 -

"If you love me, keep my commands."

Obviously, this is not something that will happen overnight; we will not wake up one morning and magically be obedient to every one of Jesus' commands, but we should walk in the light, becoming more like Him every day (I John 1:6-7). 1 John 1:8-9 warns us not to be hypocritical in this context:

"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."

Regardless of our sinful nature, we are to pick up our cross daily (Luke 9:23) and follow Him in obedience. Picking up our cross is symbolic of us putting to death the things of our flesh (Colossians 3:5), and living a life pleasing to God, our Father. In the great commission (Matt. 28:19-20), Jesus charges the eleven to GO and make DISCIPLES. Disciples do not just believe, they follow. As James tells us in James 2:19,

"You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder."

At the end of the day, we are not simply to make a wish upon Jesus and hope it comes true. He is not just an idea we hope in and wish upon. He is truth. He is our teacher that we follow and strive to be. In Revelation 3:20 Jesus presents us with a choice, I found so much more meaning in this verse when I heard it was in context to believers. Jesus knocks at the door, all we have to do is open it and let Him in...

"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me."