Meditations on Power Outages, Extreme Heat, Violent Storms and Eternity

It is by grace that you have power and not of yourselves… So, if you are in Central Virginia you are keenly aware of the tongue-in-cheek nature of this statement! If not, be grateful! For those of you who understand you can skip over the details however, I will take the time to expound for those who weren’t able to share in the joys of July without power. Almost 2 weeks ago, the better part of Virginia experienced a storm system complete with high-powered winds that wreaked havoc on most of the state. The governor has said that this was the 5th largest power outage in history leaving 900,000 people without power. (That last statement is hearsay since I didn’t have internet access to be able to verify its validity.) To top it off, we were experiencing extreme temperatures that sent the heat index well into the 100s. In the midst of all of this, the mayor of our city informed citizens that there was officially no more ice available for purchase! Now, you want to talk about a recipe for irritability? If it weren’t for the handful of gas stations, fast food restaurants and groceries stores (that were packed, by the way) we might have had the perfect storm for total anarchy!! We don’t do too well as Americans when faced with any level of discomfort. Alas, I speak as a hypocrite because as I write to you my computer cord is plugged securely into the wall, the A.C. is set at a tolerable 72 degrees and my ice maker has just dumped a large deposit of frozen commodity into the ice bin. I will say that I probably thanked Jesus no less than 25 times, or as often as I thought about it, for electricity. We were one of very few who were not impacted by the loss of electricity and boy, am I glad!! Admittedly, I felt a little guilty and left out; guilty, that I was not sharing in the sufferings of my fellow citizens and left out of the “sweatin’ for your life” club. Not enough to flip my breaker but I was with you in spirit! But, all is not lost because this situation has given me time to think (since you can do that when you’re cool) and meditate. True to character, the Lord used this time to convict me on many levels. That’s the danger of thinking and meditating as a sinner – conviction is sure to come! The harder part comes in admitting the sin but restoration is a sweet thing! Since you are female, like me, I’m sure you’re dying to know all about my sin and I have a good mind to share it with you right now so lean in… Sin number one: I CRAVE comfort! I was so thankful for the fact that we weren’t sweltering that it turned into an idol! Every time the wind blew, thunder rumbled and lighting struck I began to immediately fear finally losing power and being just like everyone else, miserable. My thankfulness for not losing power was almost a way of saying to God, “See, I’m grateful that we have power, so PLEASE don’t take it away! At least I’m not taking it for granted!” You know what the Holy Spirit said to me (not audibly – I don’t believe in that) the last time I told the Lord I was so grateful we hadn’t lost power? He said, “If only you were so grateful for your salvation.” Mmmmm, crushed everyone of my toes. Just tore up the pink polish on them and everything! Yep, I was guilty, guilty and guilty. I had taken for granted the true power source in my life. I would rather substitute the temporal comfort and be immensely grateful for it rather than the real deal! Which brings me to my second sin: my concern for the comfort of others. I extended the invitation to many friends and family during this time to share our home. Whether it was a shower, a freezer or just a bit of conditioned air, I want to make sure that we were sharing our resources with others. After all, God had blessed us with the invaluable resource of comfort! It’s a curious thing, though, I’m not nearly as concerned about the eternal comfort of those around me. Although I wanted family and friends to be clean, fed, cool and refreshed until their power returned why don’t I work and worry and extend an invitation that is infinitely more gracious than a few hours of temporary Southern hospitality? Isn’t eternal punishment far beyond anything we could comprehend? Why am I so concerned over physical light rather than spiritual darkness? My last sin (for the minute): cheapening grace. Just as we had no way of choosing to have power while most of the city went without, so we have not chosen salvation. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “ For by GRACE you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the GIFT of God; not as a result of works , so that no one may boast.” Power had been a common grace to us over those few days. Salvation is a spiritual grace that will never end! I chose neither… In Luke 16: 19-31 there is a true and terrifying story of a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus. In this parable, the rich man lived a life surrounded with all that money could buy. Scripture says that, “He habitually dressed in purple and fine linen, joyously living in splendor every day. Lazarus, on the other hand, sat at his (the rich man’s) gate, lame, covered in sores, poor and hungry. The parable goes on to say that both men died. Lazarus, carried away by angels, rested in Abraham’s bosom, another expression for heaven. The rich man, in Hades, another expression for hell, cries out in agony. Through this passage we learn several things about hell: it is eternal, it is torment, there is fire, there is no relief, it is a separate from heaven and it is an unchangeable reality. The rich man enjoyed all of his comforts on earth while Lazarus suffered, but all too soon the tables turned. It didn’t take the rich man long to realize the finality of his eternity. He pleaded that Lazarus would be sent to his family to warn them of the pending torment of hell. He is convinced that if someone were to come back from the dead and warn them that they would repent. The parable ends with this verse, “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets (a.k.a. the scriptures), they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.” The truth is, someone has risen from the dead and yet, people have not repented. They have been warned and continue to resist the obvious sign that is Jesus resurrected. No amount of time without power, no matter how high temperatures rise, there is no comparison to the fires of eternal judgment. We set ourselves up for extreme comfort here but do little to think past this life for ourselves or others. I have been overwhelmingly grateful for power but starkly ungrateful for the One “who has blessed us with EVERY spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST.” Ladies, this is the true power supply, Christ. We have every blessing because of Christ. No Christ, no power, now or for eternity. Power is a precious commodity. The power of Christ infinitely more precious… “Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood! Would you o’er satan a victory win? There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood! There is pow’r, pow’r wonder working pow’r in the blood of the Lamb. There is pow’r, pow’r wondering working pow’r in the precious blood of the Lamb.”