AI, Alexa, or Adam?

Love and loyalty will always by nature face tests.

Reflecting on the rich young ruler of Matthew 19: 16-30

 (Mark 10:17-31 Luke 18:18-30)

The creation narrative outlined in Genesis is a rich mine for understanding human nature, work, sex, our relationship to the cosmos and God's overarching plans and purposes. All this is set within the framework of a creator God whom we discover is a perfect community of reciprocal love from which creation naturally flows.

And in creating humans ‘in our image’ – imago dei’ God did not want AI or Alexa but an Adam and Eve.

This introduces choice and free will. Love must always be able to say no, I do not want your love, I have no desire to reciprocate.

Arising from this and the Genesis narrative an important lesson we learn is that love and loyalty by nature will always face tests.

The story of the first human couple tell of their being placed in a prefect garden, one in which God was able to walk around and converse with the human couple.

This human couple are made in God’s image and likeness and given a vocation to fill the earth and subdue it. One imagines that although the potential for the rest of the world was for good, it still required management. Like an overgrown or wild garden that requires attention to bring out the best.

With freedom of choice Adam and Eve face a test of love and loyalty. God gives them every tree bearing fruit to eat.  (But no animals to eat, that comes later, see Genesis 9). 

However, there is one tree, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they are given strict instructions not to eat from.

We know how the story unfolds, the tempter comes and sows’ seeds of doubt, they eat of the forbidden fruit, and all hell breaks loose. Well not quite all hell, but certainly the beginning.

They have failed the test of love and loyalty. They have chosen their own will and way.

This sets a pattern of facing tests that we find repeated throughout the rest of the Bible.

Some fail, some pass, some fail one test but pass a further test. 

With Adam and Eve's 'failure' we see another underlying Biblical theme set in place in the creation narrative, repentance, forgiveness, and restoration.

The ‘rebellion’ of Adam and Eve reveals their nakedness. (Genesis 3.10)

God in mercy and love covers their nakedness with skins, Genesis 3.21. I think it is an acceptable assumption that these were animal skins.

And animal skins would seem to suggest a dead animal, an animal sacrificed to cover up the nakedness of humanity caused by their rebellion. (See 1 John 2.28 where we find  that we can be clothed with Christ and therefore not ashamed of God’s appearing.)

Back to tests of love and loyalty now played out not only in relationship to God but in human relationships. 

Hot on the heels of Adam and Eve we have the story of Cain and Abel, and here hell begins to develop yet further, now stained with innocent blood.

Cain is facing a test of love and loyalty because for reasons we are not told his offering to God is not acceptable.

⁶The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? ⁷If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is lurking at the door; its desire is for you, but you must master it.” 

 Genesis 4: 6-7

Many more stories follow, here are just some of the better-known ones and not by any means an exhaustive list.

Noah – he passed the test and built an ark in the desert.

Abraham and Sarah – failed by not trusting God and having a child by their servant, Hagar. But then Abraham passed the enormous test of being willing to sacrifice the child of the promise, Isaac.

Moses – passed many tests but then failed by striking the rock twice to produce water after God had told him that he must speak to the rock.  (I like the reflection here of Jesus, having once been struck, we now only to need to speak to him to produce life giving water)

Jonah – failed but then passed, failed, and passed.

Job – a huge story, but he came through in the end.

David failed with lusting after Bathsheba, but then passed and became ‘a man after God’s own heart.’

Solomon son of David passed many tests but failed by introducing idolatry into the kingdom though his many foreign wives.

Gideon – passed the test and reduced his army in compliance to God’s will.

Peter failed, was restored and then passed.  

Jesus, especially as we see him in the desert following his baptism passes the tests. Also, when in the Garden of Gethsemane. ‘Not my will be done, but yours, he said.’  Echoing the prayer Jesus had taught his disciples.

Then the rich young ruler of Matthew 19: 16-30 (Mark 10:17-31 Luke 18:18-30)

This is the test for this man, riches as Jesus points out, will always bring a challenge to love and loyalty and here is an extreme example that call for radical surgery.

‘Give away all that you possess to the poor and come and follow me.’

No compromise, no haggling, no well, what about 50%. He failed and in love Jesus let him walkaway rich in earthly possessions but poor in heavenly abundance.

(Perhaps we might be thinking about St Francis of Assisi here!)

Love and loyalty will always face tests.

Some of those tests will be life changing and transformative if we can face them down and make the right choice. Others will be more ‘mundane’ and yet none the less important.

Brother Lawrence was a 17^th monk who is perhaps best known for his little book, ‘The Practice of the Presence of God.’  Lawrence was able to say that after disciplining his mind to consider Christ presence he found that to be true no matter where he was and what he was doing.

Psalm 24. ‘The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;’

Love flourishes and creates when reciprocated, but we will always have a choice. We can choose to say to God, ‘your will be done, or God says to us, your will be done.’

And like the rich young ruler God will out of love respect our choice!