I just had one of my biggest spiritual epiphanies-the Christian can learn
much about the spiritual realities of the Way by examining a leaf blower. Take, for example, my recent Saturday spent outside removing pine needles
from our yard. It is imperative that those reading this understand how much
I hate raking leaves. I have, at various times, worked cleaning bathrooms
at summer camp, cleaning out deep fryers at McDonald’s and even scrubbing
bathrooms at Cleveland International Airport. However, no matter how nasty
these jobs would get, I have never been as unhappy doing these tasks as I am
when I have to use a rake. I hate the mundane, repetitive nature of raking
leaves. I get weary of doing so much and seeing so little accomplishment.
Often, after working for what feels like hours, I’ll look up and despair at
how little of the yard seems to have been finished and the huge pile of work
left to do. In short, I hate raking leaves, period.
This Saturday, however, I received a new toy from my wife. The
leaf blower felt like a light saber in my hand, but allowed me to perform
the same duties that I would normally accomplish using a rake. The pine
needles moved at a rapid pace across the lawn and obediently found their way
into our compost pile. Work that normally would have taken me the entire
day was done quickly enough that I had a chance to watch the end of the Ohio
State football game. As my, "leaf saber," and I attacked the Dark Side’s
emissaries disguised as pine needles, a feeling that I don’t normally
associate with yard work suddenly struck me. I was enjoying the job.
Which brings me back to the aforementioned epiphany, "There is
something about the human being that responds to power tools." Now that may
not sound particularly profound spiritually, but on second look it becomes
very clear to me what this means for those who are attempting to walk with
Jesus. Jesus said in Acts 1:8, "But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the
earth."
The life of a Christian can become very difficult and mundane without having
the Holy Spirit’s power actively working. For the Christian acting without
power, Christianity may become legalistic and dry. Sharing the faith
becomes an obligation that is carried out joylessly and lifelessly. No
wonder so many of those lost souls who look in at the average Christian are
repelled by the vision of Christ that is presented. For the Christian who
has not connected to the power source is prone to robotically, "going
through the motions." Our message becomes as dry sand being offered in
drinking cups to the parched lips of those who thirst for the "living
water," that Christ offered the Samaritan woman.
Since, "the joy of the Lord is our strength," the Christian who approaches
the redeemed life in this manner has very few reserves with which to fight
off the attacks of the enemy. Unfortunately, the many hues of eternal life
become deadened into a, "religion," of blacks, whites and grays. The wonder
and awe that are part and parcel of communing with the Almighty are replaced
with the contempt of familiarity and predictability. For the Christian who
is not connected with the power of the Holy Spirit, demands that God must
conform to their understanding of His rules and what is considered,
"orthodox." Anytime that God decides to work in a way that is outside their
concepts, they deny Him the right to do as He desires. The Christian
without the power of the Holy Spirit twists the scripture that says, "God
created man in His image," into the new doctrine, "Man created god in his
image." A brief examination of what is popularly called, "the modern
Christian Church," reveals the many consequences of our modern-day heresy. "The modern Christian Church," has accepted cathedrals of stone when God
promises us we can be, "living stones." They have traded dead,
"soul-pleasing," emotional, "worship services," for the call to be, "living
sacrifices." They have traded obedience to God and received in it’s place
the traditions of men. They have settled for the, "church structure,"
instead of living within, "the Kingdom of Heaven." In short, the Church of
today proves that it has become disconnected from the power of the Holy
Spirit, just as surely as we know the electricity is not working when we can’t turn on any lights in our house.
The Christian who is not connected may go in the other direction. They may
desperately search for something real and find themselves connecting to all
sorts of, "sources," to fill the void. They are prone to error because they
have no real connection to the power that can keep them well grounded. These
are the people who run from place to place seeking, "revelation," or some
new, "religious," experience. Before I had the leaf blower, I found myself
attempting to speed up the job by trying all sorts of new techniques. I
would attempt to use different tools like pitchforks, shovels and even the
lawnmower to make the job easier. However, none of these attempts ever
proved successful. In fact, my mother-in-law would laugh at my feeble
attempts and ask me, "What were you thinking?" The Christians who are
running after, "religious," experiences often leave the same impression on
the lost people around them who look at the sometimes humorous, sometimes
horrendous results of this search and think, "What were you thinking?"
Yet, the lost souls that deride the modern Christian would have a different
take on the situation if we were truly connected to the Power source. I
have raked leaves many times in my life, and unless I forced them with the
threat of punishment, I have never had my children offer to help. But a
strange thing happened this past Saturday, as I wielded that leaf blower
against the enemies of my neat lawn, my kids and my mother-in-law came out
to see what was getting accomplished. If the Christian is truly connected to
the power of the Holy Spirit, the world is going to come to us. They may
come trying to disprove what is happening. They may come to observe whether
this is real and lasting. They may come trying to appropriate some of this
power for themselves. But in every case, the true power of the Holy Spirit
attracts those who are disconnected from Him.
Not only was my family interested in the results, they were desirous of
getting involved by using the tool themselves. They wanted to have the
opportunity to feel the power and to see the same sorts of results that I
was receiving. In fact, my mother-in-law grabbed the blower while I was
emptying the leaves into the compost pile and didn’t want to give it up when
I returned. When I was finally able to pry it from her grasp she remarked,
"I was having fun. I didn’t want to give it up." I have heard yard-work
called many things, but this was the very first time I’d ever heard it
called, "fun." The great thing about being a Christian and connecting to
the Power is that we get to share this with all who desire to be connected. When the lost and blind of this darkened world finally have the, "light
turned on," by the power of the Holy Spirit, they find that joy is their
reward. In short, Christianity can make a sad life, "fun," again.
So, sometimes when we are connected to the power of the Holy Spirit, God can
communicate with us in the most unlikely of ways. Next time you aren’t sure
about hearing God, remember my leaf blower and thank God that He doesn’t
speak to you in the same way that He speaks to me.
Posted Dec. 30, 2002
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