The robot wiggles his ears
Created to created. PLUS: Inventing my first robot, making things for this earth and the next, and Colossians 3:23.
I should be building giant robots right now.
That is, if I had followed my dreams when I was like 6.
Though I briefly considered being a professional ice cream man, for much of my childhood, I wanted to do science. And in my mind, you had two choices of science: the science where you pour colored liquids from one tube to the other, or the science where you build giant robots. I preferred the robots.
I actually got a chance to test my mettle because, for some unknown reason, my church threw a science fair. I have no idea why—they had never done something like that before or since to my knowledge! But my church had a science fair and I was going to submit a robot! Luckily, my uncle was an engineer so he could help me. Soon, we turned some cardboard and a milk carton into a small humanoid figure, covered mostly in duct tape.
Ah, but wait, there's more. This robot could wiggle his ears! Each ear, a half of an egg-shaped Silly Putty container, was glued to a popsicle stick and stuck into the milk carton, and with the press of a button, a motor inside would move them. You see, as a child, wiggling my ears without the rest of my face moving was my only claim toward physical talent.
Finally, a sticker found in our toy collection sealed the robot's fate. The sticker had the name Tommy on it, thus the robot became known. He was alive!
I don’t think I won anything at the science fair, by the way. Sadly. You see that excellent duct tape work?
That was my greatest—and last—invention. Eventually, I decided building robots just wasn't for me. I wanted to enter the far more lucrative career of being a biblical scholar and having people mad at me online. :D
Before we continue…
Jake’s Stuff
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Latest Podcast Episode
The Sermon on the Mount is Serious - SOLO Episode
In this solo episode of the Smashing Idols podcast, host Jake Doberenz unpacks the cultural and theological habit of sidestepping Jesus’ teachings in the Sermon on the Mount.
And now the spiritual point…
So I no longer invent robots. I instead invent worlds with words. My form of creation is less tangible (and less “helpful,” the cynical might say!) than it was when I was a wee child, trying to solve problems of the mind and heart rather than solving important physical issues like getting a robot to wiggle his ears…
Yet Tommy still represents for me the joy of creating. With significant help from my uncle, I built a robot! I presented him to my church with pride. I brought something into the world that was my own creation!
Creating, I believe, is core to our theological anthropology—what it means to be a human in light of God. Our first picture of God in the Bible is as Creator, and pretty soon, humankind is set up on the earth as caretakers of this world, empowered to shape it and interact with it and love it.
We found that God cares about makers in Exodus, when God fills Bezalel and Oholiab with the Spirit to design and craft the tabernacle. Later, makers are again required with the temple, crafting it with a garden motif reminiscent of the Garden of Eden where humans were first given the task to create.
One of the first major champions of the mission of Jesus, the Apostle Paul, is himself a maker. We don’t know much about his tentmaking business, but he clearly worked with his hands just as much as he worked with words, chastising people for forgetting their callings.
And in Revelation, we see a new temple coming down to earth—this one made by God. But it’s seated on our earth, among our creations. Imagine what we create today that might be featured in the renewed earth of tomorrow! This planet isn’t a waystation on the way to Heaven. We were put here for a reason. We may store up treasures in Heaven precisely by making something good down here on earth.
From the Creation to the New Creation, we were created to create!
However, in his excellent book Art and Faith,
warned:“We are created to be creative, though as fallen creatures we are bound to twist these these good impulses to boost our own egos and cover up our insecurities, or—worse yet—create weapons of mass destruction.”
The results of our tinkering and creation matter too. We must be careful that we don’t find ourselves adding things to the world that will only ruin the world we are to carefully steward.
Our work, our projects and creations, matter. To avoid some of the twisted ways our creative instincts add evil to the world, we can remember the greater calling in our work. Whatever we create—a robot or a book—we can remember that it’s not “just a thing” but something that can profoundly impact the world for better or for worse. In fact, Paul feels compelled to remind those at Colossae:
“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”
—Colossians 3:23
That’s not just a command to “work hard.” It’s a pointed statement about the greater implications of our work. What we do here on earth matters because it’s for the Lord. We are here to make, to steward, to act on the creative gift that God has blessed us with. We are here on earth for a reason!
Whether it’s robots or books or a really good pizza or a cozy, inviting home—whatever you are making, it matters. If we make from a place where we remember our broader spiritual vocation, we’ll be in good shape to bring some good to the world. And who knows, maybe our creations now will feature in the New Earth one day!
Make something,
Jake Doberenz
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