When was the last time you were prompted to update your cell phone, your iPad/tablet, or your computer? Have you ever asked to be brought up to date or been asked to bring someone up to date on a matter? Have you remodeled or thought about remodeling your home or rearranging a room? Most likely in some shape, form, or fashion, many of us are familiar with updates.
Update means to bring something that already exists up to date or current.
According to dictionary.com, to update means:
As a verb (used with object), up·dat·ed, up·dat·ing –
· to bring (a book, figures, or the like) up to date as by adding new information or making
corrections: to update a science textbook.
· Computers. to incorporate new or more accurate information in (a database, program,
procedure, etc.).
· to bring (a person, organization, etc.) up to date on a particular subject: The magazine
article will update you on the international situation.
As a noun:
· an act or instance of updating: to make an update in a financial ledger.
· information or data used in updating.
· an updated version, model, or the like.
Synonyms for update include words like amend, modernize, refresh, refurbish, rejuvenate, renew, renovate, restore, and revise. Most of these synonyms suggest improving what already exists.
What happens when we update our electronic devices? Why do we have updates, and why do we even need updates? When updates are made, new information is added to repair/correct and/or improve the function of our devices. Updates also serve to make our devices compatible with new technology. As it relates to technology, updates are necessary to operate based on the conditions of the present and what lies ahead in the future. In other words, updates are required to continue to function or to be of use. One update prepares us for the next update. So, failing to update when notified could wreak havoc. Regarding remodeling or refurbishing, updates lend to creating new and vibrant environments and atmospheres. For information, bringing someone up to date on a matter or subject provides current and relevant information that may be used to inform decisions that impact some aspect of our lives.
How do we know we even need to update? For devices, we receive an alert or a notification. For a home, we notice that something is worn out, broken, or old. Once the need for an update is made apparent, then it must be accepted and acted upon. It has to be scheduled for now or later. Depending on what needs updating, the parameters to follow through may vary.
Updates are focused, targeted, and specific. Updates take time to download and then to install. As it relates to a dwelling or space, updates require extensive time, because the old
normally must be demoed or demolished
before the new can be constructed.
What happens if we fail or refuse to update? When an update is refused or denied or delayed, how the device functions may be impaired, diminished, or limited, even to the point of ceasing to function. This may apply to failing to refurbish or delaying renovations as well. The unmodified space just does not suit the current needs as it relates to living, working, occasion, and so on.
So, why all this talk about updating? In a way, that’s what God’s Word does for us, but for sure, it does far more. God’s Word, His very God-breathed Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21), updates us, when read, studied, heard, and heeded. The Word of God has the power to update our lives, our ways, our actions, our behaviors, our attitudes, our thinking, our desires, and our relationships (Hebrews 4:12). What’s so amazing about God’s Word is that it remains the same, whereas technical updates may result from modified coding or mechanical changes.
How do we know if we need a biblical update? Life. When life happens, as we often say. When things in our worlds go awry, internally or externally.
What happens when we ignore a biblical update by not engaging in personal Bible study, not participating in a small group Bible study or midweek Bible study, and not attending Sunday worship service to hear a Biblical message? Perhaps, we miss that alert of the need for an update altogether if we ignore God’s Word altogether. Or if we are made aware of an update because of life’s circumstances and ignore the download of a biblical update, we most likely will succumb to the fate of a device we fail to update. Our lives may be impaired or limited or even stuck in a destructive cycle. Our old ways would remain, which means that we would not be able to function in the abundant life mode that Jesus came to give us. We would be in danger of becoming obsolete, outdated, irrelevant, or stuck in time (time that will never be again).
How often should we check for updates? Daily. Doesn’t something out of sorts seem to happen every day in our daily encounters? Don’t we find ourselves grappling with making sense out of something we have seen or heard in the media or just in being out and about?
What happens when we undergo a biblical update? First, because we were born in sin (Psalm 51:5), the first update believers receive is the gift of salvation (Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8; 10:9, 10, 13.) Because of our salvation, we are brand new for the old has gone and the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). As we grow in our knowledge of God and learn to follow Jesus Christ, we become transformed (Romans 12:2). As we remain in Christ and He in us (John 15:5), we are privy to endless updates. We experience the love of God as He intended from Him and for Him and in our relationships with other people including our enemies (Mark 12:30-31; Luke 6:27-35; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Romans 12:9-21). We are perpetually refreshed, rejuvenated, renewed, and restored in every part of our lives if we check for daily biblical updates and actually download them and install them.
Remember, in order to download, we need to learn or be taught what God’s Word says by reading, studying, listening, and praying. Once downloaded, we then install what we have been taught, making us ready to do what is right in any given circumstance. Sometimes, I may have overlooked a notice to update my devices, when that happens someone will remind me or ask me, have you updated your device? Well, in the case of biblical updates, we may be subject to being reminded ourselves or to spreading the news to others that it is time for an update.
