What a small-big world!

In so many ways the world seems such a small place. Thanks to advances in technology: planes, mobile phones, internet… the world can seem like it has shrunk. We can communicate easily (and clearly) with friends and families thousands of miles away, instantly and at the touch of a button. If we have the resources, we can book a flight, jump on a plane, and be back in the UK within 10hours! Cultures may still be worlds apart, however our ability to travel (physically or virtually) between those cultures is almost effortless.

But then the last few weeks of ‘disruption’ due to one small change in our circumstances (a bit of glass and dust from an old mountain) goes to show not only how fragile our systems are, but also how large the world really still is! Although we have not been personally affected by the recent flight problems it has served as a reminder of how BIG the world still is and how far away from ‘home’ we really still are!

If planes suddenly stopped flying, for good, we would be stuck! How would we get back to the UK? By car, train, bus, boat, foot? Maybe. It would be possible but it would be difficult, tiring, and hugely more time-consuming! It’s made us think about the missionaries of old – how they would make the long (months’ long in some circumstances) journey to foreign climes taking their coffin with them. They were moving for good, knowing they were leaving their old life behind and ready to die and be buried in their new home. (There is a lot that could be written about the pros and cons of the changes that have happened and the ease with which current missionaries can return home easily if needs be – but that is for another time!).

It has also got us thinking about how big, how amazingly diverse, and how challenging this world is! It is easy with all the technological advances to think that we as human beings have somehow ‘tamed’ this world. We have conquered it, we are in control of it, and it is now just one big garden which we can move about in at our discretion. The reality is, of course, very different. We are very, VERY, small beings in a very, VERY, big world. We need to remember this and so, in turn, remember our place within it.

Technological advances are wonderful in so many ways, however, we must not let them cloud our view of the world and of ourselves so much that we lose sight of who we are. Only One is able to stand above it all and look down on it as if it was one big garden, and if we forget that we are in serious trouble!