Last weekend I watched the movie AI, which tells the story of a robot boy who goes on a quest to become real. A modern day Pinocchio story, it shows how the things that make us most human also make us most alive. The robot boy, "Daniel" does not need to sleep. He does not need to eat or go to the bathroom. He mimics these activites. Things that we may seem as just necessary parts of life. He desires to do for real.
Daniel lacks the social skills to navigate a human world. Although more human than most robots, he still does not have the same capabilities or weaknesses. He doesn't get sick or grow. Some might think it would be great to never get tired. But Daniel grew tired of never needing to rest. He wanted to experience real life like his step brother. Daniel's designers did give him the ability to have emotions, especially to love. Unfortunately, the ability to love also means that we can hate.
Thinking about how this story applies to my life, I can see why God gave man free will. If God wanted man to be able to freely choose to love Him, He had to also give us the ability to hate and destroy. Free will makes us human while giving mankind the ablitity to destroy what God has made.
Like the humans in the movie, I sometimes take the basic things of life for granted. But nothing is really unimportant because God designed eveyrthing in the world for a reason. Little things can have a big purpose. God designed us to be shaped by every facet of our being. Our ability to feel pain, have emotions, be vulnerable, need to rest, or grow makes us alive. Life without change, problems or growth would be boring. While it might be cool to have robot strength, never get older or tired, I would rather be real with emotions, desires, strengths and weakness.
