Yesterday a friend showed me a vacation picture of a couple in Paris with iconic Eiffel Tower in the background. “Nice,” I said admiring the scene. She laughed and said – “It’s not real! It’s AI.”
AI (artificial intelligence) is a mixed blessing that helps us write better, creates graphics for those of us without artistic skill, analyzes vast amounts of data for us in the blink of an eye, and so much more. AI can also dupe us, tricking us with fake images, false stories, and wrong conclusions.
Sorting out truth from falsehood is a problem as old as Eden. How easily you and I can be misled, wandering down the wrong road, chasing mirages. The Genesis story tells us about God’s directive to Adam. “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” (Genesis 2)
What happens next is tragic and world changing. The Serpent shows up with a whispered invitation based on a lie. “One day he asked the woman, “Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?” He twisted God’s directive, suggesting that they could not eat of any tree. Eve quickly corrects the Serpent - “Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden,” the woman replied. “It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, ‘You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.’”
Then he lies, inviting her to question God’s goodness. “You won’t die!” the serpent replied to the woman. “God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.” (Genesis 3)
That same lie has plagued humanity from that moment to now.
God points us to the good, the life-giving, the abundant life of love, joy, and
peace discovered in obedience and faith, through Christ Jesus.
Evil whispers in our ears that He is keeping us from the best, hindering our
happiness, that He is a tyrant Who does not care, or Who does not really
understand us. IF we listen, we risk the same fate as the First Parents who
found themselves ejected from the Garden and alienated from their Father/Creator.
An early Christian artist, Keith Green, penned lyrics that
echo in my mind 50 years after first hearing them -
Like a foolish dreamer,
trying to build a highway to the sky.
All my hopes would come tumbling down,
and I never knew just why.
Until today, when You pulled away the clouds
That hung like curtains on my eyes!
Well, I've been blind -
All these wasted years - and I thought I was so wise
But, then You took me by surprise.
Like waking up from the longest dream
How real it seemed,
Until Your love broke through.
I've been lost in a fantasy
That blinded me
Until Your love broke through! (Copyright
1977 Keith Green)
Are you struggling to separate truth from error, delusion from reality? Are you at risk of losing sight of God’s best for you, substituting momentary happiness for real fulfillment?
You are not the first, nor will you be the last to be tempted! Evil finds the cracks in each one of us; unrealized hopes, rejection, pride, just wanting to be loved, a wish to be ‘known,’ some need unmet because our choices or those of another … It’s a long list!
It is important that we refuse to hide in shame or guilt. When we find the shadows of excuses, we make ourselves even more vulnerable to the darkness. The basic Truth is this – God loves us and is reaching for us.
“Even while we were still sinners, Christ died for us!” So, we look up, honest in our confession of both failure and hope and reach for Him. The Word says that “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1)
There is no limit to His forgiveness, dear friend. By faith accept the invitation of Christ to ‘come home’ to the life He has prepared for you.
I love the story of the Lost Son and the Waiting Father that Jesus told to illustrate the great need and amazing love that meets us at that point of need. Luke 15 records the story of that son who took his inheritance, ran off to live wildly, and finally found himself broke, alone, and hopeless. He concocted a story about just wanting to live as a hired hand on Dad’s farm and started for home.
“And while he was still a long way off, his father saw
him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him,
and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven
and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.’
“But his father said to the servants,
‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for
his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening.
We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now
returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So, the party began.”
Don’t be taken in by the lies of the Destroyer of lives.
Trust the Grace of God, shown to us in Christ Jesus.
Walk with God in worship, in regular times of meditation and prayer.
Associate with others who desire His love.
Quickly respond when the Spirit of God convicts you of error.
Here is a word from the Word, one rich in hope and promise. I pray for us that we will know the love of which it speaks, kept from temptation and led to life eternal.
“Because of Christ and our faith in him, we can now come boldly and confidently into God’s presence. … When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit.
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.” (Ephesians 3)
Will you say “Amen?”
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Video of this blog
https://www.youtube.com/@JerScott55
