Cow Dung Bread, the Smiling AI Jesus, and the Brutal Reality of True Joy
I spent this past weekend staring directly at the passing of time. I watched my parents celebrate their 53rd wedding anniversary, which was beautiful, but we also had to have the heavy, inevitable family conversation about my dad's failing health with Parkinson's. On the other end of the spectrum, Ceara and I are deep into our SYMBIS premarital counseling, actively unpacking the failures of my past so I don't repeat those same mistakes in my third marriage. And looming over all of it, like a suffocating shadow, is the approaching two-year anniversary of the murder of my son—the absolute torment of my life.
With all of that heavy reality sitting on my chest, I walked into church yesterday. I ran into my old college mentor and hero, Ryan Warner, a three-time All-American decathlete. And then Pastor Aaron Burke got up and preached a sermon that completely shattered the modern illusion of "happiness." He talked about joy—true, unshakeable joy—and he used AI-generated images of Jesus smiling and giving a thumbs-up to illustrate his point. To some religious conservatives, an AI picture of a smiling Jesus might feel like blasphemy. To me, it was a profound confirmation from the Holy Spirit.
God has given us AI as a powerful creative tool to illustrate His Word and reach a lost, visually driven culture. I plan to use it to bring the Scriptures to life—like generating the terrifying, awe-inspiring imagery of Ezekiel's visions. But as I read through Ezekiel this morning, I had a brutal reality check about what it actually means to do the Lord's work.
Today's SOAP
S - Scripture
John 15:11 (NIV): "I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete."
Ezekiel 2:7-8 (NIV): "You must speak my words to them, whether they listen or fail to listen, for they are rebellious. But you, son of man, listen to what I say to you. Do not rebel like that rebellious people; open your mouth and eat what I give you."
Ezekiel 4:15 (NIV): "'Very well,' he said, 'I will let you bake your bread over cow dung instead of human excrement.'"
O - Observation
We chase happiness, which fluctuates with our circumstances, but Jesus offers us chara—a calm, internal delight that is not at the mercy of our external world. It is not a feeling you work up; it is something Jesus Himself deposits in you. This kind of joy is the only thing that sustains true obedience. Look at Ezekiel. God didn't call him to a glamorous, viral ministry. He was commanded to lie on his side for over 400 days to bear the sin of the people, and he was told to bake his daily bread over literal dung. God explicitly told him that the people likely wouldn't even listen to him. His success was not measured by his audience's applause; it was measured entirely by his obedience.
A - Application
Doing the Lord's work is not going to be a fun, easy path filled with a million views and constant praise. Ezekiel proves that speaking truth to a rebellious world is exhausting, dirty work. As I step into this calling to use AI and digital media to illustrate the Bible and point people to Christ, I have to completely detach my joy from the metrics. If I get ten views or one view, I am still doing exactly what the Holy Spirit is training me to do. I will not measure my emotional state by what is happening around me or by the engagement on a screen, but by Who is living inside me. I will rejoice in the daily, unglamorous work, even when I am speaking to people who refuse to listen.
P - Prayer
Jesus, I want the real thing. I don't want the cheap happiness that comes and goes with my circumstances or social media metrics. I confess that I have often chased validation instead of obedience. Fill me with Your chara joy. Give me the grit of Ezekiel to do the hard, unseen, and uncelebrated work You have called me to do, whether the world listens or not. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Today's Challenge
Where are you measuring your success or happiness by the world's metrics—views, applause, or immediate results? Identify one act of obedience God has called you to do that feels completely unglamorous or unseen. Do it today with absolute excellence, completely releasing the need for anyone to notice or applaud you.
