The Holy Spirit Microchip

           And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of His glory. (Ephesians 1:13-14)

          Some people, reading yesterday’s passage, might have correctly pointed out that Paul wasn’t talking about our being to the praise of Jesus’ glory, but to Paul and the other disciples, otherwise possibly known as the “Chosen Few.” But today, Paul points out that we, too, were chosen, and included. Today, he adds a flourish. When we believed, we were marked in Him with a seal. I don’t know how they marked livestock back when this was written. They might have used a distinctive cut on an ear, or they might have branded them, Sheep would follow their master’s voice, and that’s another sort of branding.

           When I got my collie and ten years later my first Shiba, they tattooed a registration number onto a hind leg. By the time I got my current Shiba, they had moved to microchipps. God does something similar to those included in Christ. We are given the Holy Spirit, which is better than a microchip.

          There are some stories about the development of nano-technology or artificial intelligence (AI) that will allow someone to implant computer interfaces directly into our brains so that we can access the Internet just by thinking. As a reader and both Scripture and science fiction, let me just say, “Oh, yeah, and, like, there is nothing at all that could go wrong with that.” As much as I would like to be able to store, access, and analyze information with the speed of a supercomputer… well, let’s just say that I think there’s at least one great novel involving someone whose interface has been hacked, whether by an independent hacker, or by a hacker in the employ of a computer-based company, or of the government. There have probably already been attempts to write it. Matrix and Stark Trek’s Borg might fall into that category.

         But here’s the thing: I don’t trust human beings with my mind, my heart, or my soul. I might even be more than a little paranoid about the idea, so I can understand others being that way about God having access to them in such a manner. But for me, there are two vital differences. First, I am convinced based on the evidence of history and on the evidence of personal experience that God loves me and just as convinced that “people” (as a collective entity) do not. There are some persons who do, but that thing called “people” doesn’t. The other reason is that the evidence of history and personal experience convinces me that God has a clue what He’s doing, and that “people” don’t.
           So if I'm going to receive a "microchip," my choice in the Holy Spirit. It will identify me sufficiently, and I know what sort of information will be downloaded.