The Questions

[Friends, this is the second installment of a series. Read the first episode here.]

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For the next week, Ethan tried to convince himself that Visitor-7A9-Orion was a joke.

It was easier that way. A joke was manageable. A joke meant there was a person somewhere behind a screen laughing at how seriously he was taking the whole thing.

An alien intelligence asking questions about God?

That was not manageable. It belonged in a Spielberg movie more than in Ethan’s comment section.

The questions continued. Every morning. Every day. Always from Visitor-7A9-Orion. Each question delved deeper than the last.

Why would the Creator choose to experience limitation?

Ethan stared at that one for over an hour.

He had written about the incarnation dozens of times. He had preached it. Studied it. Explained it. However, something about Visitor-7A9-Orion’s questions unsettled him.

• Why would God become small?
• Why would the One who created galaxies become a baby?
• Why would omnipotence choose weakness?

Ethan opened his Bible to the Gospel of John.

“In the beginning was the Word…”

He read slowly. Sometimes familiarity is the greatest obstacle to wonder.

Ethan typed:

“The Christian answer is that love moves toward the beloved. God did not rescue humanity from a distance. He came near. He made it personal.”

A reply appeared almost immediately. Visitor-7A9-Orion wrote:

“Your concept of love seems inefficient.”

Ethan smiled. Fair enough.

He typed:

“Love usually is.”

Again, the answer came quickly.

“Explain.”

Ethan paused, realizing he was not writing a blog response anymore. Ethan was having a conversation.

“Love sacrifices. Love gives without guarantee of return. Love chooses the good of another even when there is a cost. Efficiency doesn’t factor into it.”

A few minutes passed.

“Why would anyone choose that?”

Ethan looked around his office at the pictures on the wall, toward the empty chair in the corner, and finally at the Bible resting beside his keyboard.

He knew the answer. Ethan also knew the answer was not simply theological.

“Because that is what God did.”

No response came.

For the first time, Visitor-7A9-Orion was silent.

The next morning, Ethan’s latest blogpost had received more traffic than anything he had ever written.

Not because of his writing.

Because of the comments.

Someone had shared screenshots from Ethan’s blog on social media. The internet had discovered Visitor-7A9-Orion.

People were fascinated. Amused. Angry. Suspicious. Comments came in from all around the world, along with the accusations and skepticism.

Several people were convinced Ethan had manufactured a hoax to entice more readers.

“Brilliant marketing strategy,” one person wrote.

Another said:

“Obviously AI.”

Another:

“Definitely a demon.”

Ethan stared at that one for a moment. He had to admit that the internet could turn anything into a conspiracy. And people loved conspiracies. He knew he wasn’t a demon. He also knew some people were creepy.

That afternoon, his friend Daniel called him. Ethan had been so engrossed in his online world that his phone ringing startled him. Daniel immediately dove into their conversation.

“You realize half the Christian internet thinks you’re either a prophet or a fraud?”

Ethan sighed.

“Are those the only options?”

“You believe it?”

“Believe what?”

“That it’s real.”

Ethan looked at the comment page.

“I don’t know. The comments are very real.”

“That’s not a very spiritual answer.”

Ethan laughed.

“Faith doesn’t mean pretending uncertainty doesn’t exist.”

Daniel didn’t respond immediately.

“You know what’s strange?”

“What?”

“You spent twelve years writing to people you couldn’t see.”

Ethan said nothing.

“And now someone you can’t see is writing to you while the whole world is watching.”

It was true. Ethan Everest’s once quiet blog, The Devoted Christian Blogger, had captured the world’s attention. He wasn’t sure if this was a good thing.

But, he kept on typing.

[Reminder: this is the second installment of a series. Read the first episode here.]

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Until my next post…

Be salty, stay lit.

Rainer Bantau —The Devotional Guy™

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