Flick the switch

Have you ever plugged something in then tried to turn it on, like trying to switch on a lamp, charge your phone, make toast, turn on the blender...but nothing happens. You wiggle things, turn them on and off, shake them and declare something is wrong. Has the power gone out? Something must be broken, because it's not working...

Then you realise it's not switched on at the power point. (D'oh)

We sometimes live like this as Christians. We think there is no power, something is broken, we aren't doing something right, the connection with God isn't there. So we try harder, we shake things around, we inspect our lives and pick out all the things we think might be wrong... and then, often, ultimately declare that it's useless. We can't do it.

When really we just haven't flicked the switch. (D'oh)

The power supply is there. If we are a Christian, we are plugged straight in to God. He has made us whole and sound. We are no longer broken.

We just need to turn on the power point - we need to say Yes to the Holy Spirit.

What good is a lamp - even a perfect lamp with an undamaged cord, plugged in to the wall, with a brand new light bulb - if the electricity isn't ever allowed to flow through it. No matter how hard that lamp tries, if it the switch isn't on, it will never be able light up by itself.

What good is being a Christian - made new in Christ - if we never let the power to live that life flow through us? We are a lamp that never gets switched on. We might look pretty sitting there, but we aren't fulfilling our purpose.

Jesus didn't just show us what a good life looks like, he sent the Holy Spirit after him to give us the power to actually live it.

What are you waiting for? Don't you want some real electricity in your life?



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Not sure about this Holy Spirit stuff?  I recommend Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I'm not affiliated in any way, I just loved the book...

I wrote a bit about it here