Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Ephesians 5:1-2
It was MY fault really. Having taken too much time to write out my lesson plan, I had run out of it… time that is. But I had JUST enough of it to send it to the printer. I hit print and… it didn’t! THIS was NOT part of the plan!
We have several computers in the house but only 1 printer. When we bought it we were happy to have joined the new fangled world of ‘wireless printing.’ Since no cables were needed, we would be able to print from anywhere in the house! Which was AWESOME… until it wasn’t!
Back in my old computer sales days, technicians had to wire up special printer cables if they hooked up to a serial printer. Each wire, or ‘pin,’ had a specific job. I remember asking and being told, “that one is the ‘clear to send’ pin.” Which was kind of like a batter in the box saying… ‘I’m ready… pitch it!’ All the other pins did something similar and, working together, they were able to get the signal from the computer. It’s the same today.. but different!
The computer has to contain that particular printer’s ‘drivers’ for it to work. If another computer, hooked up to it previously, had not finished it’s task, the printer wouldn’t even CONSIDER MY instructions. And when I get impatient and hit the print button a bunch of times, the robotic brains of both components goes insane and shuts down…confused by too many instructions! It is the same with Christ’s Church!
The purpose of God’s salvation is to make us into the “image of His Son”…Jesus Christ. Though each page from a printer may be different, they are ALL supposed to have the same clear image as was directed from Daddy God. If only that were ALWAYS the case!
As an individual, I have my own microprocessor (brain) that often get in the way of God’s intent. When that happens, “God wants” gets replaced with “I want, I need, I won’t, I can’t etc!” Unfortunately, a human operating in human mode can NEVER effectively display what ‘God’ wants. It takes a reboot, or reset, to get hooked up, online and ready. And ONLY the human can reset itself.
Because of His love, Christ gave Himself up as a sacrifice FOR ME! I get embarrassed when I realize I have been operating in K.C. mode. Then, when I don’t sacrifice MY stuff to receive HIS stuff, I STINK… and am FAR from being a fragrant to Him. When that happens, it doesn’t matter what time it is or how much I have. It is up to ME to yield and get back online with Him. And THAT is how I, you and me… work!
