There is forgiveness of sin (Acts 22:16). There is a reenactment of the gospel (Romans 6). It’s a great moment to look back on as our unity with Christ in his death, burial, and resurrection (Colossians 3:12).
There’s something else that excites me about baptism.
It’s about new life.
Revelation 21 gives me chills.
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more.2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God,prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place[a] of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people,[b] and God himself will be with them as their God.[c]4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.”
That last part especially: “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Jesus is starting something, and I get to be part of it.
Jesus is doing something new, and I’m it.
The King has come, and I get to help bring about his goals in the new world that is already but not yet.
I get to experience the new world now.
That’s what excites me about baptism. Forgiveness of sins – praise God! Confessing Christ and identifying with him – absolutely.
But, how often, do we forget that this isn’t a graduation, it’s a commencement. It’s not an end, it’s a beginning. The beginning of the new creation in me. Now, that’s exciting.
So, when I look back to my baptism, I think of a new verse. It’s not Acts 2:38, even though that’s a good one. It’s not Acts 22:16, even though that’s important.
It’s Revelation 21:5 – “Behold, I am making all things new.”
Baptize for what? Baptize to be a part of the new creation, the most exciting thing that’s going on in the world forever.
It’s great when God calls you to do something important…except when you realize that it’s a responsibility. Then, you might hide from it (I Samuel 10:22).
It’s good to be given great power, except for when you forget where it comes from (I Samuel 13).
It’s good to be king, except for when it’s not.
Here’s when it’s not:
When you don’t see where the real power and blessing comes from.
Here’s the thing: God has called us to do extraordinary things.
Here’s the two ways we mess it up:
1. We hide.
When, we look at our weakness and inadequacy, we hide. Can you think of a time that you just thought you weren’t up to the task. It was something that God has called you to do, but you just didn’t accept the calling.
“I’m not smart enough.”
“I’m not strong enough.”
“I just don’t think I can do it.”
Truth, is..they were looking for you. You were the one for the job…but you hid.
It’s time to come out of hiding and accept the call of God on your life.
2. We don’t wait on God.
Now, let’s say you’ve come out of hiding. Maybe someone pulled you out. And, now you’re front and center. You’re doing the things God would have you do. You’re out there working, you’re shining, you’re making things happen…and then you get the idea that it’s you that’s making things happen. So, you begin to trust in yourself to get things done, and not wait on God.
“I’m ready to get married…so I know my girlfriend won’t help me reach my potential for God…but I’m ready right now. God will understand.”
“I know this career move isn’t something that God would have me do…but I need the money, and I’m tired of waiting…gotta make things happen.”
Sound familiar?
What happens when we don’t wait on God?
Well, ask Saul. He was king and one day decided that he didn’t need to wait on God. He took matters into his own hands (I Samuel 13). He was rejected by God, and ultimately, let’s just say it didn’t turn out well.
Here’s the other option: “But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31 ESV.
The Key
What’s the key to it all? Remember that if God calls you to do something, don’t shirk. Go for it. But, when you do, remember one thing: It’s God’s mission, his calling, and his blessing. Just follow in faith, and he will take you places you never imagined, and show you things you could never dream. It may be hard, and there may be a few Philistines and Amorites along the way, but stay faithful, and he will be faithful to his promise. You can soar like the eagles.
Discussion Questions
Name some characters in the Bible who made excuses when God called them?
How does God call us today? Is it through a prophet like Samuel, is it through his Word, or what?
Name a time when you made excuses for not accepting God’s Word in your life/
Name some characters in the Bible who trusted in themselves and not in God?
How did it turn out for those who trusted in themselves?
Name some times in your life when you trusted in yourself and not in God.
Are there ways right now that I’m trusting in myself and not in God?
I recently saw Randy Harris preach on Mark 8. He called his message “The Gospel of Peter.” It was about the crucified Messiah, the cruciform life, and the gospel of the cross.
For Randy, preaching is 75% listening and 25% speaking. So, he built a sermon on Mark 8 by trying to listen to the text. He used a sort of odd way of doing it, that he called the Ignatian way. (It’s so odd that WordPress doesn’t recognize “Ignatian” as a word!). What that means is he tried to imagine himself in the text. He imagined himself as Peter, and out of that grew his sermon (and a very powerful one to me).
Well, I thought, why don’t we try to do a little Ignatian way with the Bible class this Sunday. Why don’t we try to enter the text.
The text is I Samuel 8-10. It’s the story of Saul becoming King.
Well, when I really listened to the text, I found some surprises. The Bible has a way of doing that. So, I’m not going to spoil all the fun in this post, but I would suggest that as you read through I Samuel 8-10 that you try the following:
Imagine that you are Samuel. Try to tell the story as Samuel.
Now, imagine that you’re Saul. Put yourself in his shoes. I think you’ll find a really interesting story there.
Finally, put yourself in the shoes of the people. Try to tell their story. I sort of did that in this post.
When I did all of that, I came away with one lesson. It’s a simple one, and yet it’s one that I sometimes forget. I think not just me, but WE forget. We tend to forget this huge lesson because it just doesn’t feel right. It just doesn’t set well with us sometimes. But, when we do get it, it changes everything.
Are you interested in that lesson?
It’s God’s plan, and I will follow it even when I don’t understand and even when it hurts.
That’s it. It’s his plan. His kingdom. His work. His purpose. We get to get in on it. We may not understand it. We may not see how the gears of his plan are fitting together to turn the wheels of history. We may not understand how the foundations are being laid and the structure is being built. But, he’s doing it.
I don’t know if Samuel understood what God was doing…but he was faithful. Now, there’s a lesson. You see, it hurt Samuel to appoint a King. He felt rejected. He felt like a failure. And, I don’t think he really understood what God was up to with all of this…the long term…centuries long plan that was being carried out…but you know what? Even though it hurt…even though he didn’t understand…he followed God.
Even When It Hurts (Hillsong United)
Take this fainted heart
Take these tainted hands
Wash me in Your love
Come like grace again
Even when my strength is lost
I’ll praise You
Even when I have no song
I’ll praise You
Even when it’s hard to find the words
Louder then I’ll sing Your praise
This is the challenge for me. Follow God, even when it hurts. Strangely enough, this gets us back to Mark 8 and Randy’s message. You see, in Mark 8, Jesus called his disciples to follow him…even if it means losing their lives. Peter didn’t get that the Messiah had to die. Didn’t understand. He didn’t understand the message of the cross. Sometimes, we don’t either. But, just like Samuel who followed when he didn’t understand, and just like Samuel, who followed, even when it hurt, we take up our cross, and follow the crucified King, the King of all King, and the Lord of all Lords. And, guess what? He’s worthy of our following. He’s worthy of our praise. Even when we don’t understand, and even when it hurts. Why? Because he’s doing something more wonderful than we could have ever imagined. That’s the gospel (good news) of Samuel.
Now to him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy,to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forevermore, world without end. Amen.
Discussion
What do you think of the Ignatian way of reading Scripture?
When you look at the story from the people’s perspective, what do you see?
When you look at the story from Samuel’s perspective, what stands out?
The story of serving God even when he feels distant is found throughout Scripture. Name an example.
The idea of serving God even when you don’t understand is tough. Think of a time in your life when you dealt with this. How do you find strength in the story of Samuel?
Serving God even when it hurts is tough. What are the benefits of doing this? Why do we often fail? What lesson are we going to learn from Samuel?
What does the writer mean by the “gospel of Samuel”?
I’m telling you, they crossed the Jordan on dry ground. Dry ground. It was terrific. They had great leaders. And, it got better. They conquered Jericho. I guarantee their enemies respected them then.
But, something happened. Terrible leadership. Terrible. These last priests…total disaster. Total disaster, I’m telling you. And, I guarantee you this, Israel wasn’t respected. The ark had been taken away. Can you believe that? The Philistines had taken cities, and the last judge…he was so old and fat, that when he heard the news, he fell out of his chair and his neck broke.
A tall, authoritative man came a long. He was strong. He looked like a leader. He had a history of winning. What did the people want?
Make Israel Great Again!
You see, they saw a strong human leader as the hope of Israel. And, his name was Saul.
You see, they wanted a King. But, when they put their hope in human leader, they were rejecting the divine one. When they had their eyes set on an earthly king, they took their eyes off the heavenly King. And, the shocking truth came later…God would be their King.
I wrote a post some time back titled More Than Decency: Jesus for President. The backdrop of this is simple: When Jesus went to the cross, died, and was resurrected, this wasn’t just about forgiving us of our sins, though that’s a huge part of it. It was about God becoming King.
Now, Israel rejected God as their King, and history tells us how that turned out. There is scandal in a King that has been crucified. Truth is, there is scandal in following a cross-shaped life. But, let me tell you this: There is also resurrection. And, in that pattern, we find the truth of the only one that can make Israel great again:
“I used to pray, ‘God, please bless what I’m doing.’ At some point I changed. I changed my prayer to, ‘God, just let me in on what you’re blessing.'”
Moss filled oaks hang over the streets of this this picturesque town on Mobile Bay. Fairhope’s cobble stone streets are lined with quaint shops, where locals and a few tourists stop by to try the fudge, taste the paninis, and maybe even drop by the Page and Palette bookstore. When I walked in there that day, I saw that William P. Young was speaking in just a few minutes. He had recently self-published a breakout best seller called The Shack.
That’s where I heard the quote. That’s where I started thinking about that one idea that I have kicked around in my head for years.
“God, just let me in on what you’re blessing.”
That reminds me of Jesus’ prayer: Lord, not my will by thine be done.
It also reminds me of the Model Prayer: Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
It reminds me of Nicaragua and the great work I see happening there.
It reminds me of how I need to frame my life: Seek the will of God…not to talk him into my will. I need to just submit to his.
Isn’t that what life is all about? In submission, we find power. In submission, we find freedom. In submission, we find hope.
That’s a hard word for an often prideful and self-centered person. It’s a hard word for me. But, just think…you’re submitting to someone or something. Better make it the right one…After all, he’s the one that’s doing the blessing.
And, I want to get in on it!
Featured image courtesy of Flickr/Overseas Development Institute
Different from Eli, whose neck broke soon after his heart. Different from Eli’s sons, who died at the hands of the Philistines, but died really much earlier to the work of the temple.
What was his secret?
Why was Samuel chosen, literally called of God?
I know the answer. It’s a simple one, but it will change your life. Your calling will be fulfilled. Your purpose will be lived out.
Wouldn’t you like to come to the end of your life, and look back on it and say, “I’m happy I lived my life that way!”
Here’s how to do it, and here’s the key to what was so special about Samuel:
He gave God his heart.
“And Samuel said to all the house of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord with all your heart, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtaroth from among you and direct your heart to the Lord and serve him only, and he will deliver you out of the hand of the Philistines.”4 So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the Lord only,” I Samuel 7:3-4.
You see, these people had been under siege by the Philistines, the same ones who had killed Eli’s sons, the same Philistines who carried the ark away. Now, Eli was dead, his scoundrel sons were gone, and the ark was returned…but now what?
Samuel knew. He knew because his mother had lived that way. He knew because he was a child of promise and a man of purpose. He had the call of God forever resounding in his mind, and he knew what must be done.
Return to God. Do it with your whole heart.
Now, here’s the thing. He said this BEFORE defeating the Philistines.
Maybe there are some Philistines in your life. Oh, you don’t call them Philistines. But, they’re out there. They’re big, and they’re scary, and they’ve defeated you in the past. Maybe it’s addiction. Maybe it’s the sin you just can’t seem to put away. But, you’re ready to go to battle. You’re ready to face your enemy. What do you do?
Well, Samuel did three things:
He declared his faith. He said that what we have to do it give God our whole hearts.
He prayed.
He offered a sacrifice.
He did all of this before facing the Philistines.
What happened?
” And Samuel cried out to the Lord for Israel, and the Lord answered him.10 As Samuel was offering up the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to attack Israel. But the Lord thundered with a mighty sound that day against the Philistines and threw them into confusion, and they were defeated before Israel, ” I Samuel 7:9-10.
The Philistines were defeated, and not just that once. God drove them back the rest of Samuel’s life. He gave them back all the cities that the Philistines had taken.
Now, maybe you’re at the point in your life when the Philistines seem to have taken something from you. Maybe it’s something you cherish. Maybe it’s a son. Maybe it’s a daughter. Maybe it’s like the Israelites – it’s whole cities. It’s big…and they won’t let you alone. They keep coming. What do you do?
Well, you remember the story of Samuel, and you remember what happened when they trusted in God. They won!
Back to Samuel.
Samuel judged Israel all the days of his life. Here’s how the chapter ends, “and he built an altar to the Lord.” He didn’t forget where his blessing came from. He didn’t forget his praying mother. And, he didn’t forget this. It’s God that defeats the Philistines.
Questions:
Whom do you think Samuel learned his faith from?
What was Samuel’s situation like growing up?
What was the situation when Samuel became judge?
What was the military situation looking like at this time?
Why did Samuel propose a spiritual solution to a military problem? Was it a military problem?
Why might he have mislabeled the problem?
Name some problems/struggles you are having right now. Are they spiritual in nature?
How does turning to God relate to your problems?
If you turn to God with your whole heart, will he give you what you want?
I’ve changed. I don’t think about Christianity the same way I did 10 years ago. Maybe even one year ago.
I recently wrote a post called, “Question the Question.” In it, I challenged readers to find the most important question to them and then question it. I believe that one of the things Jesus does is fundamentally re-frame our questions in life. He makes us question our assumptions and radically grow our spirit.
Well, let me make this personal. Let’s get to my main question.
Growing up, the most important question for me was
“What must I do to be saved?”
If the most important question is, “What do I need to do to be saved,” and the most important thing in life is “going to heaven,” then it frames your life in a certain way.
Here’s what it did for me:
It focused me on the “fear of the Lord,” Proverbs 1:7. This is the beginning of knowledge. So, that’s a good place to start!
It provided external motivation. Who doesn’t want heaven? Who does want hell? Truth is, I often need external motivation, just as I need the “fear of the Lord.” So, that helped me!
It made me take this thing personally. On a positive, that has to do with personal responsibility. On a negative, it made it all about me (my reward or punishment…what I get out of it).
I’ve begun to ask myself, “What if we moved past a reward/punishment motivation? Is there anything else there? What if we moved to a point that our heart was motivated more by love than by fear? What would that look like? What would our goal be and what would our driving question be?”
Well, if want a model for that, it is Jesus himself.
Christ said, “I came not to do my will, but the will of Him that sent me.” His primary motivation was to serve God. Period. He wanted to do his will, and he did it out of…love.
If I am reading Jesus right, and if I’m reading the Sermon on the Mount right, then Jesus is all about changing our heart. He’s all about reshaping us into a person like God.
What if we got to the point that our desire was to simply know Him? Sometimes I wonder if we really want to go to heaven for the stuff we’d get like never dying and not burning. I wonder if we even want to go because God is there. Do we want to be in his presence?
What if our driving question became,
“How can I know Christ?”
I don’t just mean know about him. I mean know what it means to follow him, to be like him, and to love him. That would mean loving others and serving them as well.
I’d like to make that my main question. I’d like to make my main goal to simply know him and serve him. I believe that is true success….and by the way…you get to be with him forever.
Let me ask you a cutting question:
What if there was no heaven?
I know there is a reward for the faithful, but what if there wasn’t? What if this life was all there was to it? Would you serve God simply because you truly love him…or are you just doing it for the reward?
Truth is, the real reward is knowing him.
John 17:3, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
Have you ever seen Raiders of the Lost Ark? It’s a great story. There’s mystery, intrigue…and there’s the Ark. The Ark is dangerous. It’s not something to handle lightly….
It melts Nazi’s faces..
Now, that’s fictional…but, is it?
Here’s the story behind that story.
In the days of Samuel, the Philistines captured the Ark (I Samuel 4).
While they had the ark, a few things happened (I Samuel 5).
Their idol was toppled and destroyed.
They developed tumors (one translation has hemorrhoids).
There were mice.
Now, their faces didn’t melt, but it was pretty scary. So much so that they decided to send it back with a special offering of gold.
Here’s the lesson:
God is to be feared.
The same God whose ark topples idols and sends terrible tumors is the same God who sent the 10 plagues (Exodus 7-11). This is God who sent fire on the prophets of Baal (I Kings 18). This is the God of fire on the mountain (Mount Sinai, Exodus 19).
Of course, this is the same God of whom we speak at Christmas when we talk about sweet baby Jesus, But, we forget that this same sweet baby would later overturn the tables of the swindlers at the temple (John 2:14-16). We forget that sweet baby Jesus would become our Redeemer through enduring terrible suffering, and that the cross shows the scary wrath of God. And we forget that one day, people will hide themselves “in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains,16 calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb,17 for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand?’ ” Revelation 6:15-17.
So, how is it that God is full of grace and love and also a God of holiness and wrath?
He hates sin. He is angry at sin. He is holy, and that means that he is separate from sin (Isaiah 59:1-2). So, how can this holy have anything to do with sinners? How can he in mercy welcome us into his presence? The answer is the cross. In the cross we see grace, but we also see wrath. Jesus bore the terrible wrath of God so that God’s justice would be satisfied. He satisfied that requirements (I John 2:2). That’s how God can hate sin and love the sinner. He took the sin on himself. But, he’s still the God of holiness, and his wrath is as real as his love. By the way, when we come to Christ in faith, we are allowed to be clothed in Christ in baptism (Galatians 3:26-28). This means that when God looks at us, he sees not our filthy wickedness, but his own holiness. That’s why we call it amazing grace!
What happens when we forget that?
What happens when we forget the price that Jesus paid? What happens when we forget that grace isn’t cheap? Well, we might just have the situation that Paul addressed in Romans. Here’s what people might say..“.Since there is this thing called grace, why don’t we just go on sinning and grace will just cover it all? Whopppee! Time to let loose and sin, sin, sin!!”No!!!! If that’s what you think, then you missed the whole point. You missed the point of your baptism, and you missed who God is, and what following Christ means. You missed the story. That’s what Romans 6 says (Justin’s interpretation). And, when you miss all of that…bad things happen.
I think that can be seen in Eli’s sons.
There’s this story of some really bad things happening. Eli was the priest. His sons had missed the first lesson: the fear of the Lord (Proverbs 1:7). Because of that, they went astray. They turned God’s service into a mockery. And, just as Jesus drove the swindlers out of the temple, God drove this family totally out of the temple. There was death on top of death. The sons were killed in battle. The father died upon hearing the news. They were done. But, God had a plan, he had a replacement. He had a new priest (Samuel) that would serve him from the heart. This priest was a the son of a woman (Hannah) who had no doubt shown the fear of the Lord and the grace of the Lord.
Now, back to the ark. Back to the fear. What do you do, when you realize that you should be killed, but you are spared? What do you do when God gives you a gift you just don’t deserve? Well, you do what Hannah (Samuel’s mother) did. You serve. You give. And, you praise.
And, when you do…God can do more with your praise and your service that you ever imagined. Just think..did Hannah know that her son would become THE priest and prophet in Israel? Did she know that he would anoint the first king and then the greatest king of Israel? Did she know that her son would help pave the way for the coming of the Messiah who would save all mankind, not just Israel, and would be the greatest King of all Kings, and would be God himself among us…more than we can ever hope or imagine. Did she know all of that? No! But, she knew that God was great, and he loved her, and that she loved him.
Be like Hannah. God can do more than you ever think or imagine with your gift, with your service, and with your praise.
I leave you with Hannah’s prayer of praise:
And Hannah prayed and said,
“My heart exults in the Lord; my horn is exalted in the Lord. My mouth derides my enemies, because I rejoice in your salvation.
2 “There is none holy like the Lord: for there is none besides you; there is no rock like our God. 3 Talk no more so very proudly, let not arrogance come from your mouth; for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 4 The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength. 5 Those who were full have hired themselves out for bread, but those who were hungry have ceased to hunger. The barren has borne seven, but she who has many children is forlorn. 6 The Lord kills and brings to life; he brings down to Sheol and raises up. 7 The Lord makes poor and makes rich; he brings low and he exalts. 8 He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord‘s, and on them he has set the world.
9 “He will guard the feet of his faithful ones, but the wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail. 10 The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.”
Now, I think I’ll go listen to a little Praise and Harmony, Our God is an Awesome God:
Bible Class Questions:
Had you ever heard the story about the hemorrhoids, mice, and tumors. Why not?
How do we sometimes try to make the Bible stories into children’s stories?
What does it mean to fear the Lord?
What was the ark all about? What would it have to do with us today?
Should we fear the Lord now that Christ has come?
What do you think “cheap grace” means? How do we cheapen grace in our minds?
How does Romans 6 tie in to the discussion of Hophni and Phinehas?
Why does it seem that God takes people abusing the temple so seriously? What is the temple nowadays? Who are the priests? Has God changed?
What do you think of Hannah’s prayer life?
How can we pray like Hannah?
What does it mean to encounter the God of grace and wrath?
Who would you like to spend a day with of anyone in history?
The answers to these questions can tell you alot about a person.
However, I think another thing tells you even more. And, it’s not all about the answer. It’s all about the question:
What is the most important question to you?
You see, it’s not always our answers that are the most important thing. It’s asking the right questions.
Think about it. While others were getting good grades in computer science classes, Mark Zuckerberg was asking his own question, “How do you connect people?” That’s a great question. And, now, because he relentlessly pursued that question, most of the whole world is connected in a new and powerful way.
Let me ask you, do you ever feel like you’re answering the wrong questions? For instance, you’re in a business meeting, and someone has all the right answers…but the project just makes no sense. Right answers, wrong question.
You’re in a school that is doing a new way of teaching…and the teacher follows it to a tee…but the method itself needs some reconsidering. Right answers, wrong question.
Now, if you think about your life, what are the big questions you’re asking?
John F. Kennedy has the famous quote, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” It was about changing the question.
And, that’s what Jesus did. He revolutionized the way people thought about God. The way they thought about God’s Messiah. About what they thought it meant to follow God. About what it meant to be great and to be king. Jesus is all about changing our answers, but first, he radically re-frames the question.
So, let me ask you to do something.
Write down the most important question in your life.
This is going to change everything. Worlds will collide. Lives will be transformed. I’m talking about the coming tech changes. How does Jesus’ story fit into all of that? We’ll look at that, but first, let’s think about….the future.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
How does Google know what you’re about to search for, even when you misspell it?
How does Facebook know how to advertise the things you just might buy?
How in the world is there, right now, a car that can drive itself? It’s here, and it’s growing. You can’t even imagine the ways it will change the next 20 years.
Transhumanism
Just think.
What if we could swallow a pill that would monitor your vital signals and wirelessly provide information to your doctor? By the way, this is already created, and will have FDA approval by 2018.
What if the blind could get an implant that would give them vision? It’s coming. Just think cochlear implants for the eye.
What if computers could literally read your mind? It has already started.
What if a computer could record your dreams?
Not only that, but what if we could offload our memories to the internet? What if we could offload processing power to a computer? Literally, surf the web at the speed of thought.
Now What?
How do you react to all of that, are you scared? Are you excited?
Truth is, so many powerful things are coming, but the question is what are we going to do with them?
The story of Jesus is as relevant today as it was before the digital revolution. It answers the question of “Why?” and “Who?”
Just think, nuclear energy can provide clean power or murder millions. It all depends on the spirit. We are the drivers of the tech.
The truth is, the story of Jesus hits us in a place that is deeper than tech. It hits at at the intersection of all the facets of reality. It speaks to spirit, ethics, love, family, hope, and intelligence. It gives us hope. We’re not afraid of tomorrow because we know who holds it. It gives us power. We will use the tools of innovation to help people.
Just think. Christians have built hospitals. Now, we will use nanotech to provide healing.
Christ followers have spread the gospel by mouth before. Tomorrow, we may spread it in a medium we don’t yet understand.
Christians of all people shouldn’t fear new tech. We should simply use it to bless others. Show the love of Christ. Do good. After all, that’s what his story is all about, and his kingdom is never shaken (Hebrews 12:28).
