The iPhone 5 and Your Walk with Jesus...

I just watched a YouTube video from Apple on the release of their newest iPhone and I was amazed by two things.  How incredible this phone will be and how little it has changed.  No matter how much they use the words, redesigned, started over and completely new, this new phone does not seem to very different from the iPhone 4S.  Now, please understand that if you bought me one I would thank you and then with a complete lack of spiritual maturity show it off to all my friends.  That moment of honesty aside when you look at the pictures of the new phone it looks incredibly similar to it's iPhone predecessors.

What Apple HAS done, instead of coming out with a completely new looking phone, is get really specific and intentional with the little things.

For example, they took the case - which is virtually the same as the 4 and 4S - and made it fit together even better.  They now take pictures of the front and back of the aluminum shell while on the conveyor belt and mechanically mach the other pieces of the case from over 700 precast options.  Their claim is that they are dealing in nano-meters when it comes to how the case fits together.  They have also come up with ways to slim the case down a little, but have made it longer without making it wider (no, your old 4S otterbox will not fit the new phone).  They had to create a new LTE chip as well make several other advances to the hardware to make this all happen.   In addition they created new ways of polishing and finishing the aluminum so that each chamfered edge, each rounded corner is nearly a mirror image of the others.

But it doesn't look much different.  It is a little smaller a little longer but the screen, the apps, the backgrounds the form and function of the phone is nearly the same.

I wonder what would happen in our spiritual lives if we took the Apple approach to our walk with Christ?  Instead of looking for that next big breakthrough or duty or job that God is just waiting to give us, what if we started focusing on the little things.   You could start with the case.  Are their corners to your personality or demeanor that could stand to be smoothed down and chamfered a little?  Would it be a good thing if you focused on making sure that your personality and attitudes were mirrored so that whether you were at home, the grocery store or church you appeared the same to those around you.  You know, not so rough.  Maybe your language could use a polish.

And what about the inside?  Are there areas that you have simply ignored because they seemed to be working?  What if you started getting specific with your spiritual life?  How much time do you spend in prayer/Bible reading each day?  How can you sandwich that stuff in so it becomes a more consistent and vital part of your life?

Maybe instead of looking for that next BIG spiritual step you and I could start looking inside and outside our lives with a focus on the little things that help us be better prepared for the big things.  Here's to a more efficient and integrated spiritual walk for you and for me.

(and I'd like my new iPhone 5 in black)