A picture is worth a thousand words. Have you ever uttered these words? Perhaps amid a Surreal Experience when attempting to explain a complex idea, did words just seem to fall short? In today’s tech-ready culture, we have an immediate remedy to gaps in our vocabulary, we just bring out the smartphone while muttering something along the lines of, “Here, let me show you,” to ease the tension of being unable to express ourselves. In one explanation for the above adage, the meaning is that “seeing something is better for learning than having it described.” As someone who is generally obsessed with learning, today, the plan is to use both—pictures and words—to describe a rather complex idea. Are you ready? There is No Square Inch of this universe, or my life, that is not in the outstretched hands of our Creator God.

Whew! And here your plan was to engage in some light reading about Flourishing at Life. Well, if you hang with me, I’ll do my best to share with you the ways that, over the past few days, I have been repeatedly reminded of this awe-inspiring truth and why I believe it’s relevant to address here. Along with many of you, I am currently Wrestling with how AI (Artificial Intelligence) will impact our lives in the days ahead, so in my effort to grapple with these issues, I go in search of knowledge. With the hopes that God will turn that knowledge into wisdom and discernment. Presently, I feel a deep longing to learn how to integrate AI into my life and teaching without being fearful, and in today’s world, where we are being smothered under a Cloud of Fear, that’s a challenging task. But Fear Not! Instead, my prayer is that you will find comfort that there is No Square Inch that goes untouched by the Master’s hand.

Consider the snowflake (or if you prefer the warmer version, a grain of sand). As winter storm Blair arrives in central Kentucky, as I watch an uncountable number of flakes land softly on the ground, I am reminded that each one is unique in its design. And with gratitude for Catie Leary’s collection, we have the ability to see this breath-taking design captured in photos. Now, moving from a micro to a macro view, as my screensaver so timely shared, we see a mass accumulation of these individual flakes. I’m sure you are following along now—there is No Square Inch of those mountains, of all those combined snowflakes, that their Creator God is not aware of where each one fell. And whether it’s a snowflake, a grain of sand, or a sparrow, if God cares so much about them, how much more does He care about us His Image Bearers?

Please do not misunderstand and think that I do not continue to confront every day my worries about AI, algorithms, and the future; however, because of reminders like Psalm 139and those tiny snowflakes, I instead find comfort that anything I face, the Lord goes through it with me. As Marvin Williams reminds us, even when our metadata is being traced, “God knows where we are in relation to Him. In Psalm 139, [David] addresses a prayer to God, the one who alone can search and examine what’s going on inside of us…He knows everything about us (vv. 2-6), is present everywhere…His thoughts are higher than our human understanding (vv. 7-18), and He’s with us as we face our enemies,” even the digital ones.

So, as I delve into the realities of AI and what it means to Flourish at Life in a digital age, as I share what I’m discovering and learning, join me in considering which intentional approaches might help you navigate the unknown future ahead, whether it’s cultivating a Digital Philosophy, embracing a Take it Slow mindset, or developing AI Literacy. While you consider these things, please be comforted by the wisdom that Tony Reinke shares in God, Technology, and the Christian Life, “…new tech simply moves ancient truths about human flourishing back into the foreground of our tech-age ethics. As we seek wisdom and meaning and purpose, the eternal relevance of God’s wisdom in Scripture will shine in the tech age.”

References:

Leary, C. (2022, February 17). 13 perfect snowflakes captured in photos. Treehugger. Retrieved from https://www.treehugger.com/perfect-snowflakes-photos-4863764

Reinke, T. (2021). God, technology, and the Christian life. [Kindle version]. Crossway.

Williams, M. (2025, January 5). God knows everything. Our Daily Bread. Retrieved from https://www.odbm.org/devotionals/devotional-category/god-knows-everything