I'm A Mac (finally)
I have taken the plunge. After a long period of indecision and waffling, I have decided it is time. I had a false start once and backed away, and I have regretted it ever since.
I have abandoned my Windows computers for Apples. Mind you, I have years of experience with Windows computers. In fact, I go all the way back to CP/M machines. The first computer I used was a Kaypro II “portable” computer (portable if you were a behemoth). It weighed 29 pounds and had to be plugged in! When I look at my iPad now and realize that it has thousands of times the power that the Kaypro II did, I am amazed. In fact, my smartphone has more power than my first ten computers combined.
I stayed with Windows even though I knew it wasn’t perfect. It was virus-prone. It had issues with drivers and peripherals. In the meantime, my son Critter had an Apple Macbook Pro and raved about it. It never broke, never had “issues.”
When my Dell laptop slowed to a crawl and the only way to fix it was to wipe the computer and start again, I was fed up. I had had enough. It was time to make a change!
When my brand new MacBook Pro showed up at the house, I was apprehensive. I had to learn a whole new way of navigating. The way you install programs is so different on a Mac. It’s better, waaaaay better, but it took some getting used to.
I am ecstatic to report that after just a couple of days with my Mac I have firmly decided not to go back to Windows ever again. The Mac is different, and in this case, different is better.
There is a pretty obvious parallel here to our lives. Many people just move through their daily lives, not satisfied, but terrified to try something new. One of the biggest things I hear from people who haven’t accepted Christ is, “I don’t think I can live like a Christian should.”
First of all, I’m not even sure what that means. It usually means that they have a preconceived notion of what being a Christian is, and they are usually wrong. If you think being a Christian is living your life by a rigid list of do’s and don’ts, you don’t know what being a Christian is. I don’t live my life by a rigid “You can’t do that” list. I live my life in a way that is pleasing to me and the God who died for me. St. Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.” Far from an excuse to go hog wild and pig crazy, it is a guideline for the Christian life.
If I love God (and I do!) I can do as I please. Loving God is the first thing, not doing as I please. It’s like being married. There are all kinds of things I can do, but most of them (maybe all of them) are not pleasing to my wife. So because I love her, I don’t do those things. It’s not like she woke up one morning with a list and said, “Here are the things I don’t want you to do.” Rather, over our years together, I have learned what does and doesn’t make her happy. Making her happy makes my life better, and I am better for it.
Sure, God has some non-negotiables like “Do not murder,” and “Do not commit adultery.” Those are good rules and breaking them would not only make God unhappy they would mess up my life, too. I don’t have rules. I have a relationship with a God who loved me so much that He gave His only son for me. He has given me a lot more than I have given up to follow Him. And I’m not special, He will do the same for you. You just have to take the plunge.
Loving Jesus (and my Mac)… Jerry