getty-images-8sdmlrfAZ4E-unsplash (1) https://unsplash.com/photos/blur-and-defocus-earth-futuristic-technology-abstract-background-illustration-8sdmlrfAZ4E

Our existential “treats”

“Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.” —Matthew 24:30–31

We are hearing that AI could be an existential threat in the next decade. Maybe AI is an existential “threat” to our world, and maybe it isn’t. Either way, there isn’t a whole lot most of us can do about that today except turn off the technology and give our world some good news. The gospel provides the existential help everyone will need.

What does the phrase “existential threat” mean? AI quoted the Cambridge dictionary, which says, “Existential Threat: A hazard that threatens total survival, such as a major war or climate catastrophe.”

COVID was an “existential threat” until it wasn’t. So were World Wars I and II. In fact, every time I drive in Dallas traffic, I am experiencing a personal “hazard that threatens” my survival! So, in the midst of all the AI threats, I wanted to write about the existential treats that might improve our outlook.

An existential perspective from The Terminator and the Giver of Life

The news has been warning that we might have only a decade left on earth. Does that mean the “Terminators” are coming? I never watched that movie, but I’ve seen several clips. I would like to compare some wisdom from both the movie and God’s Word. I asked AI for some famous lines from the movie, and I will compare them with the truth of Scripture.

“It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with.”

That line belongs to the character of Kyle Reese in the movie The Terminator. It is his now-famous description of the AI capacity of the relentless cyborg in the 1984 film. I’ve seen the clips of Arnold Schwarzenegger with his metal suit, red eyes, weapons, and cyborg vocals. I didn’t see the movie, but apparently, his cyborg personality is trying to help. Truthfully, I wouldn’t hang around long enough to try to reason with a cyborg!

On the other hand, God told Isaiah, “Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool” (Isaiah 1:18). 

Your existential treat: Whatever might threaten a Christian’s life on earth is actually an avenue to their eternal mansion in glory. Our sins are forgiven. We have been washed as white as snow. We can look at a cyborg and say, “Go ahead. Make my day.” Different movie wisdom, but that line works!

“Come with me if you want to live.”

Arnold’s character told the frightened people in the movie to come with him for protection. They followed The Terminator and kept their lives on earth, but what did their lives look like? People were shot at, injured, blown up, and lived in constant fear. They were hungry, thirsty, in pain, and in need of just about everything, including a shower and a good night’s sleep! They were breathing, but were they really living?

Our existential treat: Jesus said, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). I’ll take that offer any day and every day! Jesus said, “Come with me if you want to live,” and offered us life eternal where there is no fear, no illness, no pain, and an eternal home with him. Christians are never really “at home” here on earth. By God’s grace, we don’t belong here forever.

“Hasta la vista, baby.”

The most famous line from The Terminator is my favorite. “Hasta la vista” means “see you later.” We are human beings, and we can’t help but cling to our temporary lives on earth. It’s what we know and much of the time, love. We don’t want to miss moments with family and friends. We might miss our beautiful sunrises and sunsets. So, we take medications and exercise, trusting that a healthy lifestyle will give us more time on earth. 

We need to think more often like Paul. He realized his earthly life was coming to an end. Rome was an “existential threat” to Christians of his day. He had been faithfully serving God, and now, he was in prison awaiting his termination. 

His words to Timothy are our existential treat: Paul told his protégé, “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

Have you ever considered why God made certain that people would age? Aging is a daily existential threat to life on earth. God wanted us to look forward to life eternal. God wants us to witness to people we know and love so that they will be in heaven with us someday. God allows our steps to slow, our knees to ache, and our thoughts to turn to a home in heaven. 

Our existential treat: God wants us to look forward to life eternal and joyfully say “hasta la vista,” or “see you later” to those we love. Everything on earth is temporary, except the souls of the people around us who choose the grace of God that faith in Christ provides. 

If we only have ten years before the Terminators arrive . . .

People are saying that AI is an existential threat, and we might have only a decade of life before the cyborgs take over. If we want to get ready for the Terminators, then we should buy a set of encyclopedias for our shelves. We will also need really good books on gardening, hunting, and other practical survival needs. We will need to get a tent, a bicycle, a wheelbarrow, and some really good garden tools. We can also stockpile cans of beans and vegetables, and buy some chickens, cows, and pigs. 

Mostly, what we will need is our Bibles. We will want to remember that faith in Jesus is the only means of survival that will last forever.

Our existential treat that transcends all threats

Jesus encouraged his disciples, saying, “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other” (Matthew 24:30–31).

The Bible commands us, “Do not worry.” Scripture also commands us to “go and make disciples.” Whatever AI decides to do is only a temporary threat to Christians. We just need to remember our job is to help people find faith in Christ and be ready for whatever happens in this world. Everyone deserves to know they have the hope of heaven.

Our existential treat: We will only say “hasta la vista” to our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus promised we would “see them later.” 

Photo by Kym MacKinnon on Unsplash

Once in a blue moon

Sometimes it really pays to be a morning person. My husband and I were out walking early last Thursday morning and were able to witness the very rare super blue moon. It was an amazing sight, especially because it is a sight that will not occur again until 2037.

Jim and I discussed the fact that we will be seventy-nine years old on that day. It was an interesting and somewhat sobering thought. We are getting older! (Notice I didn’t say “old.”) 

“Blue Moon” 

I must not have paid very much attention to the blue moons of the past. I didn’t know until Jim told me that those moons originated the phrase, “Once in a blue moon.” My mom used that phrase often while I was growing up and I had never associated it with an actual event. 

Those thoughts led me to wonder whether or not the song “Blue Moon” had anything to do with the lunar event. The song was written in 1934 but became a number-one hit by the Marcels on the Billboard 100 chart in 1961. It was covered by a long list of people, including Elvis Presley. I liked the Frank Sinatra cover, and here’s a video link with the lyrics so you can listen if you would like.  

I don’t know whether Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, the men who wrote Blue Moon, were inspired by an actual blue moon, but they wrote a good song that became an international hit. 

Why did God create a blue super moon? 

The lunar event was fun to experience, and Jim and I had a fun walk that morning. Later I found myself wondering, “What might God have been thinking as he created a moon like this for us?” This moon is rare and beautiful. What did God want us to know about him through his creation? 

Paul teaches in the book of Romans that God’s “invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20).  

The apostle John reminds us that Jesus, the Word, “was in the beginning with God” (John 1:2) and that “all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made” (v. 3). I wonder what God the Father and God the Son wanted to say to all of us when they decided to create a lunar event that would only occur every ten to fifteen years. 

The holy uniqueness of our Creator

Paul’s words about the creation from Romans 1:20 conclude with these words: “So they are without excuse.” Paul was saying that all people, throughout time, are without excuse if they lack belief in their Creator. 

How can we be sure there is a Creator God of the universe? 

  • Sunrises and sunsets
  • Seasons
  • Mountains, valleys, rivers, streams, canyons, deserts, forests, beaches, and millions of species of plants and animals
  • Hurricanes, droughts, rainstorms, warm breezes, winter snows, spring rebirth
  • Infants, toddlers, tweens, teens, adults, and the aged
  • Time itself is marked by God’s creation

People “are without excuse” if they can exist in this amazing world and choose not to glorify the One who created all there is. As I watched the blue super moon sink on the horizon, I knew I served a great and mighty God who is holy, perfect, and unique.  

Why is there unbelief? 

Paul’s wisdom answers that question as well. He wrote, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things” (Romans 1:21–23.)  

Paul began Romans, his comprehensive book of theology, with those thoughts for a reason. Museums throughout the world display ancient artifacts that men created and called their gods. The evidence for God’s existence is everywhere unless people are focused on lesser things. That’s why Paul could say they have “no excuse” for their unbelief. 

Once in a blue moon? 

There is a lot of rhetoric about climate change, but scientists are still hypothesizing about it. Christians can point out that God created our climate and gave human beings the responsibility to care for it. There is a lot of news about the damage caused by the hurricane. We can point to the power of God’s redemption in the actions of the people who have rushed in to help with rebuilding. Many of those people are people of faith. It’s time for the created to acknowledge and honor their Creator. 

A lot of people wonder if there is a God. Christians can lead people to faith in their Creator, and our witness should occur more often than “once in a blue moon.” Everything God created, including each of us, has a purpose. The forward direction of our world is an indicator that this magnificent creation is only a hint of what we will experience in heaven’s perfection. Others deserve to share our hope. 

The phrase “once in a blue moon” is only for planet Earth “for such a time as this,” to borrow a phrase from Esther 4:14. People won’t see a blue moon in heaven because “night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:5). 

Imagine standing with Jesus on the Day of Judgment when God asks, “How often did you share the gospel?” 

None of us will want to respond, “Once in a blue moon.” 

Will you watch for the opportunity to glorify your heavenly Father today? 

It could make all the difference in someone’s life.  

The created need to honor the Creator. If you don’t know how to start, just focus on his creation.