Devotion: Process Not Product
Take a moment to read the scripture from the weekend: 2 Timothy 4:6-8 & 2 Timothy 4:16-18
As summer gives way to fall, Rally Day at Sheridan Lutheran this past Sunday marked the resumption of weekly Christian education. In his sermon, Pastor Greg contrasted the Apostle Paul’s words of encouragement in 2 Timothy in the First Century A.D., to the effects of Artificial Intelligence on learning today.
Pastor Greg introduced us to “The GPS Effect” of Artificial Intelligence. We tell the GPS in our cars where we want to go and a voice directs and informs us: “Turn right in 500 feet.” “Make a U turn if possible.” “Keep left.” “You have reached your destination. The destination is on your right.” We get to Point B from Point A, but we haven’t learned anything, because we haven’t had to think. There’s no process involved as there is when we use a map to find our way.
When we ask a question of Artificial Intelligence, we get a fast answer and it’s often a pretty good one. But we haven’t learned anything. Because there’s no process. We haven’t had to think – let alone think critically – beyond phrasing the question.
Education isn’t about earning a degree or certificate; it’s about learning how to learn, so we can deal effectively with the questions and problems life throws us. Education is a process, not a product. The same is true of our Christian education.
In 2 Timothy, Paul is in prison in Rome and he expects he will die soon. He is writing a final letter to his protégé, Timothy, who is pastoring the young church at Ephesus. Paul knows that a “crown of righteousness” – eternal life with God in heaven — is in store for him and all believers, because Jesus paid the price for our sins through his life, death and resurrection. So he is at peace even though he expects to be executed.
Paul recounts how he spent his life: he fought the good fight, finished the race, kept the faith. What do these phrases mean exactly? Paul prayed, he studied God’s word, meditated on it, discussed it with others, preached about it, wrote letters about it and lived it in his daily life, including the times he was in prison. He confessed his sins and received forgiveness, forgave others, served others. He worshipped and testified to the love of God in Christ Jesus. This was the process by which Paul developed his relationship with God. Through it he learned to trust God with his very life, knowing God would never leave him.
Like Paul, we are saved from sin by God’s grace. What Paul did, we are called to do: worship God, read and discuss the Bible with others, meditate on the meaning of God’s word for our own lives, serve others, have fellowship with others in the Body of Christ and live a life that is a witness to God’s love. In this way we learn about the nature of God and how very, very much he loves us. We learn to trust him more and we have more peace in our lives and in our souls.
God wants this peace for us. It’s what we seek in the Lord’s Prayer, what we ask for when we say, “thy kingdom come, thy will be done…on earth.”
As we draw closer to God through our spiritual practices, the more we can live in his kingdom today. But there are no GPS- or AI-like shortcuts. We must invest ourselves to know God better and to enable Him to dwell within us more fully.
Heavenly Father, you have claimed me as your child and forgiven my sins. Thank you for these precious gifts! Help me to know you better, so I may dwell in your kingdom on earth as well as in heaven. Amen.
Written by Cheryl Stubbendieck
Cheryl Stubbendieck is a member of Sheridan’s Devotion Writing Team and leads the Wednesday Morning Women’s Bible Study at Sheridan. She and her husband Jim have two sons: Aaron, his wife Chaitra and their son Theo live in Houston; Reed lives in Stillwater, Oklahoma.