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Grace was in a hurry. She had just returned from the ward a few minutes past 3 p.m. and was preparing to head out again for a tutorial scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Her phone’s battery was on 2% and needed urgent resuscitation, but her charger was nowhere in sight.
“This is one thing I dislike about iPhones–their batteries are weak,” she mused as she fumbled through her bag, where she thought she had kept the charger. She had no time to fuss over her phone’s palaver; time was against her, and she still hadn’t found the charger. Thankfully, she spotted it on her roommate’s bed. On sighting it, she immediately plugged it into the socket, connected it to her phone, and dashed out of the room. She couldn’t afford to be Prof. Kofoworola’s scapegoat. Luckily for her, she entered the class a few minutes before the professor arrived and shut the door.
The lecture lasted a full three hours. It was so interesting that two-thirds of the class seriously battled with sleep. Prof. seemed more concerned with flexing his ‘stuff’ muscles before his famished students, most of whom probably had blood glucose levels beckoning at hypoglycemia. The ambiguity of the terms he used was another hammer that drove the nail of drowsiness deeper into their fatigued bodies. If not for signing the attendance booklet…. Unperturbed, Prof. continued his lecture until his time was over.
“Any questions?” Prof. asked after the lecture as he packed his laptop into its bag. He asked with a tone that could have discouraged any inquisitive student. It was obvious that he only asked to fulfill all righteousness. However, he was visibly disappointed when Grace raised her hand.
Somehow, Grace had managed to stay awake because the topic aligned with her research interest. She had even taken notes when others barely brought out their notes. She was running on the last ounce of glucose in her.
“Go and check it on UpToDate and be updated,” was Prof’s blunt response to her question. Instantly, the once-drowsy class became enlivened and erupted in rib-cracking laughter. That was the last straw that broke the camel’s back for Grace. She was so exhausted and hungry, and now, discouragement has been added to the list.
After the class, the first person Grace wanted to talk to was her mum, but her phone was in the hostel. So, she rushed back just as hurriedly as she had left earlier. One of Grace’s coping mechanisms in school—aside from prayer–was talking with her mum.
On entering her room, she was disappointed to discover that her phone hadn’t charged, even though there was power supply. A good 3 hours wasted! While wondering whether there had been a technical issue somewhere, her eyes drifted to the socket’s switch.
It was off.
She was deeply disappointed because she badly needed her phone at that time, but there was nothing she could do.
In that moment of disappointment, God used the situation to draw her attention to a very cogent issue. He made her see how insufficient it was to simply plug in her phone without turning on the switch—and He likened it to the spiritual state of many Christians. He showed her that many believers were like her “dead” phone—plugged into religious activities but never turning on the switch of obedience to God’s Word.
They are deceived into thinking that being deeply involved in religious routines automatically means they are spiritually alive.
When the switch of obedience to God’s words for our lives is off, we cannot profit from the abundant life that Christ gives.
vicky
At that moment, Grace took an inventory of her spiritual state. She realized she had been as busy as a bee with church and other academic and extracurricular activities, yet her quiet time with God was fizzling out. Her Christian comportment had begun to wane. She had thought that as long as she was regular on service days and participated fully in church activities, she will be spiritually fine. However, that was not the case for her. She knew the message was for her and sincerely addressed the condition before God.
No matter how long her phone remained plugged in, it would never charge unless the switch was turned on. Likewise, no matter how long a person engages in religious activities, if he or she has not displayed humility in obeying God fully and sincerely, the life of Christ will not flow through such person’s life.This, He explained, is one of the reasons many professing Christians are spiritually dry and close to burning out, despite their active participation in church activities.
Dear Friends, It is not enough to stay plugged into a church denomination or activity;When the switch of obedience to God’s words for our lives is off, we cannot profit from the abundant life that Christ gives. The river of life cannot flow through us to refresh our inner man. It is high time we turned on that switch—by asking for God’s grace to be totally obedient to Him in all things.
After receiving His Grace, we must painstakingly ensure to keep ourselves in that posture of perfect obedience to God in all things, just like Jesus Christ, our perfect example.
While church activities are very great, we shouldn’t prioritize it over personal obedience to God’s instructions. To God, the beloved ones are not necessarily the most active but the most obedient. We shouldn’t forget that it is only when our hearts are right before God that our services can be acceptable.
May God bless us with hearts that yearn to be obedient to Him always. Amen.
God bless you.