You know I have been playing with AI apps for a while and love them. They have been evolving recently and becoming more useful every day. I encourage everyone, young or old, to experiment with AI. It’s not that hard because you don’t need to know the science behind it. Treat them as tools or toys, and you will discover they are useful tools and fun toys that can help you get things done.
Some experts say the advent of AI is as significant as the invention of electricity. I agree because it permanently changes how we live, move, and have our being. Like it or not, it won’t go away. So, why not make good use of it?
I am sure you have heard in the news about the DeepSeek AI model that rocked the tech stock market. In short, competition benefits consumers like you and me because the application of AI is becoming significantly cheaper.
You might also have heard the concern about job losses due to AI. It depends on how you look at it. AI will surely replace many jobs but also create many new opportunities.
To help you navigate the AI revolution from the spiritual perspective, let me start with an ancient parable on innovation:
Huizi told his friend Zhuangzi that the king bestowed upon him a seed of the legendary giant gourd, which he planted in his garden. Months passed, and the gourd grew to an astonishing size, weighing over a hundred pounds.
Huizi had a hard time making use of the giant gourd. “I tried to use it as a water bottle, but it was too heavy and big to carry. I cut it in half to make a dipper, but it was too wide to scoop into anything. Since it was too big to be useful, I smashed it into pieces and threw it away.”
Zhuangzi smiled and said, “You certainly are too stupid to use big things. The giant gourd held within it a wealth of possibilities, limited only by your imagination.” Then Zhuangzi told him a parable (that the parable wrapped within a parable):
In the enchanting era of the Song Dynasty, there lived a humble man whose livelihood revolved around washing silk by the river’s edge. During winter, the icy water bit the hands, threatening to halt the family’s laundry business.
Fortunately, the family had concocted a magical balm, a potion that defied the bitter cold, protecting the hands and faces from the biting frost and the painful chap so their family income would not be cut off during winters.
One day, a visitor approached the family with a tantalizing offer. In exchange for the secret formula of the winter lotion, he offered them a hundred pieces of gold, a sum they could not afford to pass up.
The family decided to take the generous offer and entrusted the secret formula to the visitor. The visitor took it to the capital city and offered it to the emperor for military use. The emperor commissioned him to lead a marine force against the southern invaders through the waterways.
With the advantage of the secret formula, they emerged victorious in the cold winter marine warfare, driving back the invaders and securing the dynasty’s future. Upon his triumphant return, the emperor bestowed upon him the prestigious title of a feudal lord.
Zhuangzi then said to his friend Huizi, “See, in the hands of the launderer, the secret balm is nothing more than a tool to make a living. But in the hands of a visionary man, this formula shaped the destiny of a nation.
“Your giant gourd is useless to you because your imagination is too small. You could have put that giant gourd in the lake and ridden on it as a magnificent boat. There are also many other creative ways you could use it for.” (End of the story.)
This parable warns us of the danger of thinking small. Let’s say the giant gourd is the AI of our time. For the short-sighted, AI represents a threat. For the visionary, AI represents immense opportunity. This story is not about belittling the small thinkers but spurring all of us to set our creative imagination free.
Today, we will look at how Jesus transformed a group of fishermen from merely making a living with their skills to transforming the world by teaching them to think deep, aim high, and serve bold, building God’s eternal kingdom instead of just feeding a small family.
What Jesus taught in today’s scripture lesson is applicable to our AI revolution as it was during the dawn of the new era of the first century. If you learn this, nothing in this world can burden you with anxiety, worries, and fear. Instead, you will maintain faith, hope, and love at all times. Let’s begin!
The scripture lesson for today is from the Gospel According to Luke 5:1-11. [Listen to the Word of the Lord!]
Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, 2 he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5 Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” 6 When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink.
8 But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; 10 and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” 11 When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. (Lk 5:1–11).
[Blessed are those who delight in God’s Word. Thanks be to God!]
How many of you can resonate with Simon Peter’s statement in verse five, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.” It seemed the fish had moved their homes. Their fishing skills had become obsolete. It happened at every turn in history when old skills stopped working. In a similar way, soon AI will replace many jobs.
In Arizona, taxis come to you without a driver. Are you comfortable riding a taxi without a driver? You will get used to it. But the point is that soon, taxi drivers will lose their jobs, as will truck drivers, doctors, and even pastors.
Many people will wake one day and tell Jesus, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing.” Many churches are also struggling to survive. They work all night long but have caught nothing.
If we can relate to what Simon Peter said, we might as well listen to Jesus’ solution. Here, we can draw three steps from Jesus’ teaching in this passage that will help us not only survive but thrive in the AI revolution.
1. Think Deep
When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” (Lk 5:4).
Jesus’ instruction serves several purposes. First, he wants to test out whether these fishermen have what it takes to be his disciples. He just came away from Nazareth, where his hometown folks almost killed him. (We covered that story last week.) The Nazarites were wet monkeys. They were not ready to be his disciples. They couldn’t think deep!
Now, he came to a bunch of professional fishermen. They have every reason to refuse Jesus’ instruction. “Who are you to tell us where to fish? You are just a carpenter.” Before this, Jesus stood on their boat to teach the crowd.
As the fishermen washed the net, they overheard Jesus’ teaching and were inspired by him. As an intelligent young man, Simon Peter gained respect for Jesus.
Simon answered, “Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.” (Lk 5:5).
Simon called him “Master” but expressed his weariness and doubt since they had worked all night long but caught nothing. But he decided to give it a try. Usually, the fishermen don’t want to drop the net after washing it because it means calling it a day.
Their willingness to follow Jesus’ instruction reveals their readiness to be his disciples. They didn’t treat Jesus’ word lightly and they passed the first test.
The second purpose of Jesus’ instruction is to show them his divine identity. He knows where the fish are. If AI takes away your job, Jesus knows where you can find better jobs. The place he shows you might sound ridiculous from a professional fisher’s perspective. But you must be humble enough to try it and experience an epiphany.
The third purpose of Jesus’ instruction is to teach them to think deep, think outside of the box, break the mold, push the boundaries, or challenge the status quo. Their faith paid off.
When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. (Lk 5:6).
They knew what they saw was supernatural, so Peter was afraid.
But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!” (Lk 5:8).
This time, Peter called Jesus Lord, realizing the man who stood on his boat was more than a rabbi. He asked him to go away from him because he was a sinful man who didn’t deserve to be near the Holy One. As always, Peter thinks deeply!
People like Peter will always identify opportunities at any turn of the time, like our time of the AI revolution. Think deep! The next quality of discipleship is,
2. Aim High
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.” (Lk 5:10b).
Since they had the ability to think deeply and get out of their comfort zone, they deserved to aim high. Jesus wanted them to be fishers of people, meaning changing people’s lives rather than merely making a living for their families.
This is like the parable of the winter balm. The family that invented the secret formula could have taken it to the king to save the nation, but the opportunity went to someone else who aimed higher and was willing to pay the price of gold and go to war for his country.
You’ve heard this famous quote about Steve Jobs when he tried to recruit John Sculley, the CEO of Pepsi. Jobs asked Sculley,
“Do you want to sell sugar water for the rest of your life or come with me and change the world?” — Steve Jobs to John Sculley
Today, Jesus is asking you. Do you want to use your skill, your time, talent, and treasure, your secret formula, to make a living for your family or to make a life by building the kingdom of God?
We know Jesus aims high. He was born in a manger, escaped to Egypt as a child refugee, and was raised by a carpenter. His ambition could have been limited to working as a constructor at best.
However, Jesus didn’t allow his upbringing to limit his vision. He set off to build a kingdom, not just any kingdom, but the eternal kingdom for the salvation of the entire human race. It was his higher purpose from God.
So, Jesus needs his followers to think deep and aim high to use AI, or any tool or skill for that matter, to its maximum power. Lastly, he wants you to serve boldly.
3. Serve Bold
When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. (Lk 5:11).
It was a bold move to leave everything and follow him. Jesus told Peter, “Do not be afraid.” Fear can cripple your ability to serve. Fear can turn you into a wet monkey.
Jesus wants you to serve boldly and bravely. Why do you need to serve? Why does Jesus want you to fish for humans? It was because people were suffering in those days, just as they are today.
How do people suffer in our times? They are suffering from the speed of change. A fast-paced life throws off human emotional equilibrium.
AI will accelerate the pace of life even more, transforming it into a whirlwind of rapid advancements and constant change. Human minds are not made to handle rapid changes. Many people are already suffering from anxiety and other physical, mental, and spiritual problems.
Google has announced their latest quantum chip, Willow, that can perform a standard benchmark computation in under five minutes that would take one of today’s supercomputers 10 septillion years. That’s billions of years in five minutes!
Folks, just imagine the speed of change AI technology is bringing. AI has already surpassed human capabilities and could develop a mind of its own beyond human control.
One of the fastest-changing countries on earth is China. We’ve heard that the youth suicide rate has increased significantly in recent years. Some young adults have given up their pursuits and “lie flat” at home.
In the whirlwind of change, humans can lose their physical, mental, and spiritual compass and fall apart. But there’s a balm in Gilead to make the wounded whole like the winter balm of the launderer.
People need a higher purpose with God as their anchor to handle the rapid changes. Jesus said that you must build your life like a house built on the rock so that no storms can knock you down.
As a Christian, you have this rock of refuge, but others need it. They are the ones that you need to serve. Those are the ones that you need to love. They are your fish. Do you know “love” in Chinese is spelled “AI”? Just a thought!
People need the Good News even more in the age of AI. Jesus calls you to serve them like a fisher to bring them into the eternal peace and stability of the Kingdom of God.
So, let’s practice what Jesus expects from us: think deep, aim high, and serve bold, inspiring others to do the same, helping them build their lives on the solid rock that no storms of change can knock them down.
There we have it! Until we meet again, keep your light shining brighter and broader, harvesting the fruit of felicity, freedom, and fulfillment.
Amen!
Bye now!
