The Second Gaze - Magic
Scifi writer Arthur C Clarke once wrote, "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." That quote was with me most of the day yesterday as I reflected on the word, "magic." I thought about all the technologies that are a part of my life - from the obvious (phone, computer, etc) to the ones too easily taken for granted (central heat and electric lights). I have sometimes wondered how someone 200 years ago would have reacted to a smartphone. So initially I was reflecting on those kinds of technology. But it was in a text I received late last evening that I felt the Spirit speak. My photo today isn't the fanciest I've ever shared - simply a screenshot of part of her message. This was coupled by news from a person in our congregation who was going home from the hospital after major bypass and valve replacement surgery.
Clarke’s words are so appropriate for these. The technology involved in both of these pieces of news can truly feel “magical” in what has been done and what is able to be done. But behind the technology are the people who have made them happen. People who research, test, experiment, try, fail, succeed, test again, collaborate, share, and their efforts truly change the world. I am in awe of the capacity that God has built into us to do these things.
So, no card tricks or rabbits out of hats or iPhones or Androids for magic...simply the magic of how we can change lives and change the world.