Lifeless No Longer

I heard the monotone voice as I pushed my shopping cart.
I could not tell the direction from which it was coming.
Wet clean up in organic aisle, the voice said.
I noted that the word, the, was forgotten.

The same statement was repeated.
The voice had no inflection.
The voice had no personality.
It almost sounds like a computerized voice, I thought to myself.

I was hearing the same statement over and over.
I was beginning to wonder when a person would clean up the organic aisle.
From the number of repetitions, I knew it had yet to be done.
It was not like the employees to let something go for so long.

I met a friend near the frozen aisle.
We have not seen each other since Bible study ended a month ago.
We hugged and caught up a bit.
I could hear the monotone voice again.

Being tall, I could see a blinking light.
Something taller than me was coming towards us.
The voice was coming from this thing with the blinking light.
It was coming straight at us.

There was a man stocking shelves right next to us.
What is that thing? We asked him.
It’s our new robot, he answered.
What does it do? We asked not quite understanding its job.

It notifies us when there is a clean up on an aisle, he said with disdain.
The robot with the monotone voice still kept coming.
You’re getting pretty close, buddy, my friend said looking towards the robot.
I could tell the employee did not like the robot very much.

Another woman passed by with her shopping cart and heard us talking.
That thing almost hit me on the other aisle, she said in annoyance.
Why do you need this robot? I asked rhetorically.
If you don’t like it, you can tell the manager, the employee said, I can’t do anything about it.

As the robot got closer, I could see that it had large googly eyes on its side.
Under the large googly eyes, there was a painted smile.
Someone must have thought that two googly eyes and a painted smile would help.
Someone must have thought it would make the robot look human.

Some sort of motion detector was spinning on the front.
As it neared my friend and came within inches of her leg, it turned and went another way.
I watched the googly eyes, seeing nothing.
I watched the painted smile looking so unreal.

Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (Genesis 2:7)

The robot made me a bit sad.
I have seen employees doing the job the robot was supposed to be doing.
I have talked to some of those employees.
In fact, I always tell one young man how hard he works.

The robot almost seemed like a gimmick.
I cannot imagine it is worth the cost.
I could hear shoppers in the store talking about the blinking robot.
There opinions were strong but divided.

Besides the fact that the robot was doing the job of a person, something else made me sad.
How many people are walking around just like that robot?
How many people have googly eyes that do not see?
How many people have a painted smile but no heart?

Until God breathes the breath of life into our nostrils, we are lifeless.
When God breathes the breath of life into our nostrils, we come alive.
God determines our first breath and our last breath.
We are made in the image of God.

On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (John 20:19-23)

Jesus appeared to His disciples after His resurrection.
There in the upper room, despite locked doors, He appeared to them.
There in the upper room, Jesus breathed on them.
Receive the Holy Spirit.

We have a birthday and a rebirth day.
We have God’s breath in our nostrils on the day we are born.
We have the breath of God’s Spirit in our hearts on the day that we are reborn.
We are no longer lifeless.

Who wants to be like the robot in the grocery store?
Who wants to have googly eyes that do not see?
Who wants to have a painted smile with no heart?
Jesus says, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (John 10:10)

We have a birthday.
When we come to Christ in faith and believe in Him for our salvation, we have a rebirth day.
We are lifeless no longer.
We have Life and His breath within us.

Amen.