Salvation in an App Store

Salvation in an App Store? By Mark D. Stucky Google Maps won’t work for the way I feel lost. Is there a salvation app I can install on my phone to download redemption today and upload my soul when I die? Since there are apps for everything in life, why not also an app to access the afterlife? Is there a spiritual map to the Pearly Gates in Heaven that also includes a free ticket for effortless admission? Can an app act as replacement for tear-permeated repentance? Can I install a cheap-grace app without costly discipleship? I don’t want to pick up a cross and follow Jesus. I just want to pick up my phone and stream salvation. I want Jesus joyous in my app. I don’t want him hungry and thirsty. I don’t want him sick and in prison. I don’t want him naked and a stranger. I don’t want hillside sermons on social justice. I just want smiling faces and shining crosses. I haven’t found salvation in any app store so far. If you find that elusive app, will you please send me the link? (First published in Soul-Lit, Summer 2023. See also my poems “Missing: God Incarnate,” “The Ascension (with Rewrites),” and “God’s on Mute.”) (The image is a collage created by the author from multiple images.)