Merry Christmas, Monrovia!

Nativity scene in front of First Presbyterian Church, Foothill and Myrtle. 

And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NKJV

Comment: My brother recently told me about an artificial intelligence (AI) website (nightcafe.studio) that can generate images based on a simple phrase you type in. I experimented with “bicyclist on Southern California mountain trail” and got this:

Not perfect but very impressive. If I was a professional artist I’d be worried.

So, what does this have to do with Christmas?

Well, so much of our self-worth is based on some attribute we have: beauty, strength, intelligence, creativity, skill, and so forth. So what happens to us when, one by one, a machine can do - or be - each of these things far better than we can?

I fear it will be very discouraging and traumatic, and to avoid at least some of the trauma I think we need to remember that our core sense of who we are should rest on our relationship with God, that we are beings created in the image of God.

And that we are loved by God. So much so that He sent his only Son to live for us (that’s Christmas) and to die and rise again for us (that’s Good Friday and Easter).  No technological advances change that. And that is very good news indeed.

So, Merry Christmas!

- Brad Haugaard