Hey Google!

It’s not uncommon for Kim and I to be having a conversation when a question arises to which neither of us has the answer. It could range from the stats of a favorite tennis player to the amount of protein in the food we are eating to what the weather will be over the weekend or something more scientific. At that point, one of us will turn and say, “Hey Google! What’s…?” Within seconds we have an answer. 

I think you would agree, we live in a world that puts knowledge and information at our fingertips. Just a quick internet search gives us the answers to most of our questions—some  accurate and some not, but that’s beside the point.  We are told that before 1900 knowledge doubled approximately every century. By 1982 knowledge was doubling every 13 months. Some estimate that today, knowledge—what we know and understand about our world  and how it works—can double at a rate of up to every 12 hours! No wonder we can begin to feel what has been called, “information overload.” 

The question is, however, does all this information and knowledge mean we know everything there is to be known? And, will we ever? More than that, has all of this knowledge and information made us into better people? Are we more moral, more spiritual, more godly? 

The Bible says, “As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother’s womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.” (Ecclesiastes 11:5 – NIV) In other words, there are some things that we will never fully understand with our human minds. That is especially true of spiritual life and the work of God within our lives. 

Jesus said, “You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:7-8) 

According to Jesus, the life that comes to us from the Spirit of God is one of those things we will never fully understand; all we can do is accept it by faith and experience it. Spiritual life and the work of God within our lives will never come about by calling out to “Google” (or “Alexis!). Nor, will Google help us truly understand it. 

May we never become so arrogant as to think we will ever have it all figured out. More than that, may we be humble enough to live our lives filled with faith and open to those things that we will never understand with our rational minds. And may we allow the work of God’s Spirit within us lead us to be the kind of people God created us to be. 

Today, rather than calling out to Google or Alexis, call out to God, the One who alone is able to save you and bless you and give to you spiritual life. 

Have a great day! 

- Pastor Tim Harris