Rooms - James L. Rubart [53]
“More tomorrow. It’s late and I’m wiped.”
“Me, too. Talk to you soon.”
“All right, pal,” the voice said. “Sleep well.”
Before sleep buried him, Micah had worked out the basics for the software. He had to tell Rick about it.
CHAPTER 20
Software that would change the Kingdom of God. Rick would love the idea.
On Sunday afternoon Micah walked north on Main Street toward Rick’s gas station full of inspiration. Before he reached the garage, he spotted Rick’s Rams hat as it bobbed above the crowd half a block ahead.
When Micah caught up to him, Rick said, “I was hoping to bump into you today.”
“Really? That was going to be my line.”
“Why, you gotta another house story?”
“No, I’ve got an idea that will revolutionize people’s relationship with God.”
“Really. Gotta hear about this.” Rick motioned them toward the beach, and they turned left at the next corner. Three minutes later Haystack Rock towered in front of them.
“I want to hear your idea,” Rick said as they headed south. “But first tell me about your talk with Julie.”
“Tough. Glad it’s over.” Micah paused. “For a few minutes I seriously considered going back to Seattle for good.”
“The pull of two different worlds, huh?”
“Exactly, which is what gave me the inspiration for a new piece of software.”
“That’s what gave you the idea?”
Micah imagined Rick was staring at him but didn’t turn to find out if he was right.
“That and a few other things . . . but let me describe it.” Micah kept staring straight ahead, concentrating on the gray sand stretching out in front of them.
“If we’re constantly pulled in two different directions, if we’re constantly trying to figure out the right path, why not give people the answers to every situation they ever come up against? I’m going to develop an intricate set of biblical principles to live by based on Scripture. A set of guidelines that will be the heart of the software. You have a problem? A situation where you don’t know what action to take? Plug it into the program, and it’ll give you the right thing to do. Even show you a verse that backs up the answer.”
“You’re serious.”
“Yeah, I’m serious. God has given me talent in the world of software. Maybe I’m supposed to use that ability for His good. It would sell.”
“I’ll bet.” Rick’s face looked like he’d swallowed a slug.
“It would help people.”
“Maybe you’re right. Sounds absolutely wonderful. Stellar. Stunning. Magnificent.”
Micah frowned. “You’re mocking me.”
“No, I love it. With a program like that, who needs their heart? For that matter, who needs a relationship with God?” Rick picked up a piece of driftwood and hurled it into the churning surf.
“I’m not saying do away with God. I’m just saying why not use the wisdom in the Bible and modern technology to systematically point people in the right direction?”
“What about deeper relationship with God? Intimacy with Him? His heart knowing ours. Ours knowing His. Hearing His voice and following it?”
Micah watched two kite surfers launch themselves high enough into the air to become silhouettes against the late-afternoon sun. “God gives us a moral code we must follow. To live by the heart is a dangerous thing. We were given the Word so we will not be taken in by the deceptions of the heart.”
“Who’s been telling you that?” Rick’s voice took on a sharp edge.
A wave of heat passed over Micah’s face. “No one. Just talking to myself about it.”
“Really.” Rick stepped in front of Micah and looked him in the eye. “Just yourself?”
“Yeah.”
Rick nodded, turned, and trudged down the beach. “So we live only by the Word?”
“Man can be deceived. The Word can’t,” Micah said as he caught up to Rick. “We need to follow its guidelines.”
“So what do the Christians all across the world today do who don’t have Bibles? Are they living in less truth than you and I?”
Micah was silent.
“The Word is our foundation. It’s what we test everything against. But during the first fifteen hundred years of the church, there were no Bibles in the homes of the people. Not until Gutenberg invented the