Lessons from the Lights

                          

Last Friday, the corporate office got two new desks.  My ever resourceful co-worker, Naomi, finagled getting the old ones passed on to us.  Took a whole day rearranging, but we managed to get them both set up in our office.  So, I'm no longer on a folding table!  Neither is our part-time college student, Brittanny.  She has Nomi's old desk.  We look and feel more professional now.  There was only one problem.  My desk goes into a corner.  And two of the fluorescent lights in the fixture closest to my desk were out.  Made the paperwork portion of my day a little dark and difficult. 

 

After a little gentle nagging, I managed to get our maintenance supervisor, Gerry, to attend to my problem.  He brought a whole box of bulbs in.  I said we only need two.  He said just wait and see.  He began to gently twist loose one old bulb after another in the fixture closest to my desk.  Then he started placing in each new bulb.  One didn't come on right away.  He twisted and pushed and giggled it until it lit up.  When he was finished it was so bright and different! 

 

He closed the cover on the fixture.  Wow!  Even the cover looked bright and clean and white! But now the fixture nearest Nomi, looked dark and dingy in comparison, despite the fact that all of her bulbs were lit.  So, Gerry moved the step ladder over and repeated the whole process on the other fixture.  When he was finished the whole room shone brighter and whiter!  Now I saw Gerry's wisdom.  And in this whole process I realized some spiritual truths as well.

 

Just as Gerry knew every bulb should be changed, God knows we need to be totally made over when we come to Christ.  He doesn't just take away the "bad bulbs" of sin and darkness.  He reworks, remakes and replaces our shallower, dimmer "good bulbs" of love and charity and such with His own new brand.  If a "bulb" doesn't light up, he gently giggles it with the Holy Spirit's conviction and persuasion until it too shines forth it's brilliance.   In this way, we can truly shine, clean and new for Him to the world around us.  And in comparison, those who have not submitted to this change look dull, dingy and dirty.

 

Got any bad bulbs in your fixture today?  Call in the Master Maintenance Man. 

 

                             

Tags: fluorescent lights, maintenance, coming to Christ