I attended a talk yesterday which defined, very prophetically, how the world as we know it is changing.

AI and rapidly advancing technologies will accomplish many wonderful things to come, but also enables those who control it to easily convert truths to lies and realities to fantasies.

Deep fake videos, better and more convincing arguments for or against something beyond what any human can conceive or articulate, automated everything.

The fabric of society will be rewoven into an unrecognizable something that most of us aren’t ready, willing or able to comprehend.

The talk was very convincing and unnerving with evidences of its veracity more plain each day.

Ushering in the New World Order isn’t on the horizon.
It IS the horizon.

Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The big picture.

It’s easy to lose sight of it.

We are a myopic people whose vision is so nearsighted, focused so much on our immediate wants and indulgences of the day, that we overlook the bigger purpose of why we’re actually here among another 8 billion souls.

For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭2‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

What are you sowing? Where are you applying your gifts, the unique handiworks of God? On what do you waste your time, energy and resources for indulgences and other selfish pursuits?

The bigger picture awaits your attention. And time is passing.

Grasp it and your purpose in it. Focus your everything on it while we still have time.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭NIV‬‬

As a psychotherapist for 15 years, I learned early on the difference between carrying the burdens of others and letting them carry their own loads (Gal 5)

Buildings have walls that carry some weight of the roof but aren’t critical to the task as are load-bearing walls, without which, the structure would collapse.

Likewise, helping someone through a crisis eases their burden when we help bear some of their weight but acknowledge the load-bearing is theirs alone to carry.

People would ask me how I could hear such tragic stories in my therapy office all day and still sleep at night.

This burdens vs loads analogy was key to maintaining my own mental health while still being a helper to my patients.

If you find yourself all consumed when helping a friend through their troubles, knowing which of their weight-bearing walls are within your purview and capacity to carry and which are not might make all the difference for you to continue being an effective helper.

I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

For most, keeping your nose clean, following the rules, and being a good person seems a solid path to whatever lies beyond this life.

Wouldn’t it be great if that’s all it took?

Gaining a righteousness just from observing the law as the Jews did will get you pretty far but not far enough.

That last step has long been a stumbling block but a necessary one for passage into eternal life.

No matter how much you may try, nobody ends up sinless.

Belief that Jesus was the Messiah sent by God to die and resurrect for us as payment for our sins is the final step over the threshold into the acceptance of God who can do anything but tolerate the presence of sin.

Be good and follow your rules, yes, but to understand that faith and belief in Jesus is the final chapter completing the story is a whole new revelation to which the entire new testament testifies.

The day will come when we check our morning calendars for today or draft an email and give little to no immediate thought to the date in front of us or its historical significance.

Already, this newest generation has moved on to other critical issues and incidents which have formed their own 23 years of life and are likely to affect their next 23 and beyond.

It happens.

The pace of events and changing news cycles is dizzying these days and few are able to keep track of both history and present.

It will be left to a generation of elders who are quickly passing on and into oblivion themselves.

But the day will come when America forgets to mourn and a sad morning that will be when there are no more tears and never forget is forgotten.

That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭12‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

When others engage against you, when they find your words or actions worthy of arguments or put downs, or when they’re willing to spend their own precious time to subdue you by silencing you, it often means you’ve hit a nerve.

Likewise, if you’ve ever had your conscience suddenly pricked, challenged by the Holy Spirit within you, it’s much the same thing. Our flesh tries to silence the conviction because it’s hit a nerve.

Though through different circumstances, the stricken nerve is determined by whose interests you serve.

The spirit of God alerts us to our weaknesses and vulnerabilities and challenges us to make a defining change or to recalibrate the trajectory we are on.

In either case, striking a nerve is painful.

What you do with that pain is what matters.

Attend to it. Introspect. Accept the challenge it presents and be willing to make a change for the better when your sin or weakness is made plain, evident, and inarguable.

When we are weakest, He is strongest.