Hard Wired for Power
Yesterday was my ‘first day’ off for months. Besides taking and making a few church related calls, I spent most of the day feeding an electrical cable through the studwork of our bathroom walls.* The proposed new shower in the bathroom needs power. After hours of drilling holes in very awkward places I needed to ask my son Joel to help me feed the cable through the holes and round the corner as I couldn’t push and pull at the same time. Eventually the wires were connected and I was so pleased when the neon light on the fused switch came on showing that I had not made any dramatic mistakes so far! Yet after hours of work, there is hardly anything to show for what I have done. The cables are all buried and the holes I made are covered up. Only an inconspicuous switch on a wall labelled ‘shower’ indicates that there is a hidden source of power running through the walls.
On the street on a winter’s day it is very difficult to tell the difference between an Adventist Christian and a person who does not believe in God. On the outside all humans look similar. Inside, I believe we are all ‘hard wired’ to connect with God. We are all created in the image of God with the capacity to relate to Him and one another. To extend this analogy, the essential difference between those who decide to follow God and those who have not, is that they have chosen to switch on the button that connects them to the Holy Spirit, the source of infinite power to live and love.
It will only be possible to have hot showers in our bathroom because the invisible cables are drawing on the electrical power supply. I needed help to put the cables in place. I couldn’t do this by myself. Christians must work together to create networks of positive relationships. When we are ‘switched on’ to God, we experience the privilege of showering His grace, love, joy and peace in our communities. Allowing the power and presence of God in our lives will change the multiple worlds in which we live. Let us pray that all of us will choose to switch on to the Source of infinite power each day and then be energised to bring the warmth of God’s presence into a cold world that needs us to reveal Him and make a difference!

Pastor Bernie
*(For those who are wondering about my competence to do this job, I should mention that I don’t compromise on safety issues, so followed all the instructions and will be calling an electrician to sign off my work.)