The Intersect

by Joshua Bland

Recently I have been re-watching the television series Chuck. I started watching a few years ago and never finished it; now, with the help of Netflix, I have started from the beginning. For those of you who do not know about the show, let me sum it up:

Chuck is a tech-smart slacker working at the Nerd Herd (the show's equivalent of the Geek Squad). He is sent an email by an old associate that contains an encrypted government supercomputer, which is downloaded into his brain. The show follows Chuck's life and relationships as he learns to live with the Intersect.

After having a marathon of episodes during a recent bad weather day, 2 Corinthians 5:17 came to my mind: "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." Jesus talks throughout the Gospels, particularly that of John, about the coming of the Holy Spirit. We see this happen in Acts, given as a sign of our redemption (Ephesians 1:13-14).

While the scene of Acts 2 is certainly compelling and powerful, the aftermath is equally important. The Holy Spirit transformed the lives of the disciples, equipping them to share the Gospel in their communities, to endure persecutions, and to spur one another on in faith, discipleship, and works.

While all analogies fall short, notice this one: the Holy Spirit is to the disciple what the Intersect is to Chuck. Without it, he could not function properly or successfully in increasingly daunting situations. Without it, his life would never be what it could be; his full potential could not be realized. Even with the Intersect, episode after episode shows Chuck messing up or failing in some way; we will do the same with the Holy Spirit in us. When failure occurs, there is opportunity for redemption and maturity that can come from it. However, if we choose (or continue to choose) to ignore the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we can not be the sons and daughters, disciples, ministers, and evangelists that God has called us to be.