are "you" on facebook?

I can't stand Facebook applications. I really can't. They muddle up the interface, they fill up the news-feed, and they offer little redeeming value. Every day, it seems like I'm flooded with comments that, "So and so took such and such a quiz, and the results are: !"

I do love, though, how Facebook trends come and go with such utter completeness. It give me hope! Remember that trend a year ago: 25 Things About Be? It felt like EVERYONE jumped on that boat.

And it seems like everyone has forgotten the "about me" section. No one pays it too much attention, but when Facebook was just starting, that was hot stuff. Update it, let people know what's going on...

I love Facebook. As a youth pastor, Facebook gives me insightful glimpses into my students lives. Their "non-Church" lives. I cringe when they swear. I know when they're hurting. I laugh when they joke.

It's a very real window into their souls, because Facebook has become a place of honesty and reality. That seems like such a trite and ignorant statement, but I truly think it's true. It's become a place to be, "you."

Think of the different profiles. You can go onto someone's profile and see a long list of what he or she has been thinking over the days. You can see applications that interest this person, and you can see plenty of quizzes, comments or notes about who this person is.

In essence, Facebook allows someone to truly be him or herself. I think it's remarkable.

And I think the speed, fervor and passion with which we've grasped onto a platform for identity is truly indicative of our hearts.

We desperately want to be known. Heck, we desperately want to know ourselves! We want to know we are! We are a generation who are inundated with marketing. We have no attention spans because the main medium of entertainment is TV and the Internet, not crosswords or imagination. We take the shortest rout to school and work, and everything is old every 8 years.

We don't know who we are.

We're desperate for identity.

And this is simply why I think Christianity is the most culturally relevant thing in the 21st century. I've been told we need to make Christianity relevant for modern culture with bright lights, flashy productions and high-energy games. We need to use slang to communicate and movies to get the point across.

I think we've forgotten that what Christ offers, plain and simple, un-coated and purely presented, is the most desirable thing today.

Christ says we're forgiven. He says no matter what the high or the low, we're redeemed. Our identity is wrapped up in him, sealed by his blood, held in the hands of God and attested to by the power of the Spirit. Christ says no matter what happens, no matter what we do, we stand forgiven and redeemed; he says we're unconditionally loved and totally saved. And he says we've been redeemed into a community with bonds stronger than death... and with the goal of changing the world.

I think that's pretty relevant.

So let's see a Facebook quiz like that: "Dave Bondeson just took the quiz, 'What's your identity?' and the answer is: Son of God."

Booyah.