One of the exciting aspects of our ultimate end laid out in Revelation is the social aspect of heaven. We will eternally reside in a city. Everyone will be known. No shadows, no fear, total enjoyment of one another and He who sits on the throne and the Lamb.
What a day that will be!
I’m reminded of this whenever I participate in or even hear a big choir — lots of people working together in harmony, not necessarily unison.
I was reminded of this again by an internet article about how the seemingly intractable problem of uncovering the three-dimensional design of a particular protein was resolved by on-line collaboration instead of in a laboratory.
Lab researchers have been looking for over 10 years for a solution that was uncovered within three weeks of posing the problem as a game and posting it on-line. The lead technician said, “The ingenuity of game players is a formidable force….”
Indeed, human ingenuity is remarkable. If faced with a defined problem and a desire to overcome it, we usually find a way. (When I want to rationalize a decision I can do remarkable mental gymnastics to come to the desired conclusion.)
The remarkable aspect of this news story, I think, is how posing the problem as a game focused the mental energy of so many. Games normally involve some sort of pleasure so perhaps it’s not surprising to gain immediate participation.
Now, we Christians should already find pleasure in doing the Father’s will. But what if we posed the problem of how to win the world to Christ as a game?
Hmm…
~ John Bingaman
