October 22: Cap Locks Day

 

October 22:  Caps Lock Day

OK.  Guilty as charged.  I OFTEN USE ALL CAPS TO MAKE A POINT!  Caps Lock Day first came to pass in the year 2000, when Derek Arnold of Iowa decided that he, like so many other internet users, had simply had enough of people using all caps to emphasize themselves on the web. So he created Caps Lock Day in the interest of poking fun at people who use this abomination of a typing style, and to finally bring some sanity to the net. 

Here is the question to consider today:  How can we cut through all the “points of emphasis” we encounter and stay focused on what really matters?  The flood of information we receive is daunting (See October 20 for a refresher).  Of all the things that could potentially be put in all caps, what truly deserves that distinction?  

The answer is quite simple.  God’s word, as always, makes it plain.  Writing to the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote in chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians, “3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures…”  Put it in all caps! 

There are so many important things to consider, things to be highlighted, issues that need bold type and all caps.  But there is one issue that towers above the rest.  Christ died, was raised up, and all this was foretold and corroborated in God’s Word.  I’d like you to make an “all caps” decision today. 

Determine that you will first of all study and understand what those verses mean.  Look at the words, and ask yourself, “what did Paul mean when he wrote this?”  Then, apply that meaning to your life.  What things are of “first importance” to you?  Does the gospel of Jesus Christ take front and center of your thinking, feeling, and acting?  Finally, ask yourself, how will my life be a living letter that puts that truth into all caps?  Start in your home.  Then in concentric circles, move outward—your work, your dorm, you neighborhood, your community, your church, your world.  How will your life become a living testimony of truly important things? 

I need to be a little more disciplined in using all caps.  I probably do it too often.  But one thing always deserves all caps, and that is the gospel.  We have this one life.  God’s heart breaks for our fallen world and the desperate lives all around us.  Pray that your heart will break too, and that no one who ever spends any significant time with you will doubt what really matters.  Make it all caps day for the gospel.  What could be more important?