A week ago, a number of us went powerless. For our house it was only for about 48 hours, though for others it was close to double that. I made a decision--after we lost power for the third time in the first 15 months we had lived here--to purchase a generator. One of the smartest moves I have ever made. Powerful enough to run most things I need, though I need to do some rewiring in order to hook it up to my well pump. I’m still glad to have the power and heat from the space heater, though in the hallway, waking up to 46 degrees one morning was a little on the chilly side.
I am glad I had a generator to put a band-aid on the situation, but that is all I could do. I had to rely on others to make decisions on how things would get taken care of. I didn’t have the means or ability or legal right to repair the down lines or equipment on my own. It was all taken care of outside of my ability and control. Yes, I kept checking the outage map hoping for some good news, but it was less than helpful. Again, I had to wait because all I had was a “band-aid” to help.
I guess a band-aid is what we see in the Old Testament. Yes, they were offering the prescribed sacrifices for their sins. It was kind of like the generator that I offered up to temporarily take care of the problem. A temporary fix but not a true repair, much like the Old Testament sacrifices. These sacrifices were a temporary fix and not able to repair the root of the problem: sin. After the sacrifice, the sin they committed was still there, interest had been paid on it, but it wa still there.
I like what Paul writes to our brothers and sisters in Rome: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
While we were still powerless, unable to take care of the situation ourselves, Jesus came and fixed it. Now I am not saying the linemen who restored power are Christlike, but they were able to do what we were powerless to do. But even more, it says while we were still sinners. A little father down in the chapter it talks about how we were “God’s enemies”, and He still came and took care of our situation.
As you flip the light switch this week, push some buttons on the microwave, or feel warm heat come out of the register connected to the furnace, think about how we take it for granted that the power will be there. The light will come on, the phone will be charged, the tv will entertain us. Then take a moment and think about how we are powerless to take away our sins, and yet they were removed. Let’s celebrate, that though we were powerless, Jesus was not. Let’s rejoice that we can be in heaven. Let’s appreciate the power that was exerted while we were still powerless.
Appreciating the Power,
Randy