January 30, 2009
When I awakened Wednesday morning I found, as did much of the surrounding region, that we had no electricity in our home. No light from the nightlight in the hallway glimmering around the doorway, no clocks telling me to get up, and no heat pump warming my house. I groaned and pulled the blankets over my head. At least for a brief moment I could be warm.
Eventually, I resigned myself to the gloomy doom of having to face the icy day. I climbed out of bed, and looked out the window into a gray world only beginning to glow with the light of morning. Sheaths of ice covered everything, pulling tree limbs down towards the ground, and breaking off anything not resilient enough to bend. A smaller branch lay on top of our van parked in the driveway while countless sticks littered other parts of our yard.
My wife lit some candles for the darker parts of our house which were not yet touched by the growing daylight, and then began to roll our children out of bed who acted as eager as I had felt about leaving the coziness of snug blankets. Soon we were all bundled up in layers of sweaters and sweatshirts as we ate our breakfast by candlelight. Breakfast was followed by preparations for the day, phone calls to check on some folks during the bad weather, shoveling some ice from the driveway, and homeschool studies for the children.
Naturally, the fact of the dropping temperature in our home was a dramatic reminder of how dependent we are upon electricity. Our Amish neighbors aside, the absence of electric power means one thing for people during cold winter days like these: trouble. The writing of this column is a potential problem (or would be if I didn’t have access to a laptop with a battery backup) but far more serious is the trouble suffered by those who are cutoff from the outside, especially those who are either ill or alone and may be losing their only means to heat their homes, prepare their meals, or even keep the water in their plumbing from freezing. Of course, extremely hazardous road conditions only complicate the problem.
On a day like the ones we have recently been experiencing, I am reminded of how these principles are not only true in a physical sense, but are also true spiritually. Obviously I’m not talking about electricity, but instead the power that flows from the Spirit of God dwelling within the hearts of the people of God. I know that a lot of folks may not know what I am talking about, but the Bible tells us that the children of God, made into holy vessels for God’s purposes when they are forgiven of sin and surrendered to Jesus’ lordship, are recipients of the very power of God Himself.
This power changes hearts by sowing into them godly desires; it changes minds by introducing godly thoughts; and it changes destinies because it changes the direction of those upon whom it prevails. This power we see best when our eyes are opened to the reality of the spiritual realm in which we live, but at times even spills out into what we label the “physical realm” when it suits the purposes of God.
“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the saints, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of His mighty strength” (Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV).
As we survey the landscape of today’s Christianity, do we see that power at work? Is the power of God dramatically changing lives? Are minds that are steadfastly “made up” against God, overcome by the message of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Are hearts that are calloused with a thick skin of indifference being penetrated by the truth that can only be found in the Savior? Are those that we count as friends or family, and are headed down a tragic path of self-destruction, being radically impacted by the hope of an eternity in heaven with Him?
Minds that struggle to comprehend divine revelation or decipher the mystery of God’s truth can only find the reconciliation of the rational and the spiritual through the “incomparably great power” of God at work in them.
Hearts that are shattered into infinitely small pieces by loss or betrayal, disappointed by broken promises of healing, can only be mended and restored by the “incomparably great power” of God which does more than apply emotional Band-Aids.
The tragic conclusion of lives in the sad land of “Could-have-been-but-wasn’t” can only be altered by the intervention of an infinitely wise and loving God as He brings His “incomparably great power” to bear in their circumstances. Wherein one is bound for hell because he is a sinner, his eternal destination can be radically altered. Through the receiving of God’ gift of salvation, he is made a saint because of the “incomparably great power” of God which forgives and cleanses sin.
If minds, hearts, and lives around us don’t seem to be effected much by the presence and activity of Christians, then there is something sadly lacking in the life of God’s people, the Church. If the spiritual climate is becoming colder, and the light of Christ is hard to see, then there has somewhere been a “power outage” for God’s people, the result of a disconnect from His Spirit.
Do we as Christians today long to see our lost loved ones come to a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ? Do we truly desire to see “godliness” (God-likeness) characterize the lives of fellow Christians, with victory over sinful habits and attitudes? Do we really want a radically focused and meaningful worship that satisfies our need to adore the One Who created us?
There is a promise of “restored power” for us. When we swallow our pride, acknowledge our desperate need for Him, let go of any and all substitutes to which we cling, and trustingly obey His leading in our lives, life has a way of getting “filled up” with Him, not only with frequent demonstrations of His power, but with daily showers of amazing grace.
Let us not wait until the “chill” in our houses of worship deepens to the point that we are frozen solid, no longer capable of spiritually moving onward and upward. Let us no longer fumble our way through the dark of our lack of wisdom and understanding, fumbling with one technique and then another, hoping that we’ll stumble upon an outreach that “works”. Instead, let us allow His warmth to rekindle our faith to flames again. Let us return to Him in the affections of our hearts and allow Him to light our way.
(Thom Mollohan and his family have ministered in southern Ohio the past thirteen years and is the author of The Fairy Tale Parables: Classic Fairy Tales Pointing to God's Love and Truth. He is the pastor of Pathway Community Church and may be reached for comments or questions by email at pastorthom@pathwaygallipolis.com).
