For all the bad that lurks in the shadows of the internet, I also see much good. The two most prominent benefits that come to mind are that it harbors every type of community that can be imagined and that it is educational and full of unlimited resources.
There was a meme that went around for a while that read, “I love my computer because my friends live in it.” One can look at that as either a good thing or a sad commentary on society today. I choose to look at it as a good thing.
I’ve found numerous communities online. Communities filled with loving, supportive people who I never would have met if it weren’t for the internet. I met two ladies on Etsy back in 2009, I believe. Back then, I made homemade dog treats and started a group with others who made pet products. We had an ongoing chat for years. Eventually, we moved the group to Facebook when we dwindled down to three of us. We three have had such similar lives, it’s a little overwhelming, yet awe-inspiring, to realize that God brought us together because we have such similar struggles. We’re able to understand and support and love one another.
Other online communities have enabled me to make friends all over the world and interact with missionaries on a global level so that I can pray for them.
When I was little, my world was the size of our house and yard. As I got older, my world grew community by community, encompassing my hometown, my parents’ hometowns, school, playgrounds, etc. I remember when I was old enough to ride my bike to tennis practice, thinking it felt like freedom, being able to travel on my own for the first time (even though I only pedaled within the suburb). Then, I got my driver’s license, and I truly felt free. I could go anywhere.
I still have that sense of wanting, needing to travel, but with the World Wide Web, I can see the world from my couch, make friends in Australia, speak to missionaries in France. It also amazes me that I can learn from Bible commentators who lived centuries ago, read their books, and learn how they lived and what their faith looked like during a time when nearly everyone believed in the one, true God.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God!
1 John 3:1a NKJV
Father, I praise You, and I thank You for allowing me to live in this time and place. Thank You for all of the wonderful people I’ve been able to meet in my lifetime and all those You’ll bring to me today and in the future. Use me to be Your light in this darkened world. May people know I’m Christian by my love. May they see Your Spirit in me and invite Him into their being. I pray all of these things in Jesus’ most holy name. Amen.