[i]In 1913, the tiny rural mountain community of Crossnore, North Carolina remained in the dark. At that time, two doctors, the Drs. Sloop’s, arrived in the community, started a clinic, and a school, but they had no electricity. In 1915 the doctor duo gathered the men of the community together (including my grandfather, his teenage sons, and the extended family). These doctors had the men dam up Crossnore Creek, the stream running through the village, in preparation of introducing power into the community. A temporary dynamo could now be installed. My grandmother could put away her oil lamp and have a real electric lamp. Sometime in the early 20s a larger ton-and-a-half dynamo finally arrived, to supply the school, the hospital, and the community with electricity.
One of my aunts told me of Grandmother’s fear in allowing the electric lamp to burn unattended. She feared, like the oil in her old lamps, this lamp would deplete the electricity like the old oil lamp running out of oil, or worse, cause a fire. She may have believed the source came from the “fire” in the lamp rather than the dynamo down the lane from the house.
Today, more than 100 years later, most of us take electricity for granted. We walk into a dark room, flip a switch or pull a chain. What do you know! We have light—so long as we pay the power bill.
Do we take for granted, as well, the light we have within us, meant to reflect the Light of the World to the darkness around us? Our power source is from the Creator through the Holy Spirit and is ready to shine forth from the lives of God’s children. We don’t even have to pay the supplier, because Jesus paid everything!
The Greek term in the Bible for power, dunamis, is the root word for the term dynamic, dynamite, and dynamo. Who knew?
What can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power (dunamis) and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. Romans 1: 19-20
How do we relate this power source to the practical application in our Christian life? When a person turns to the Lord Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation, the Light of the world is installed and turned on within. We do not have to turn it on like turning on a light switch, and we don’t get a bill each month to pay the Holy Spirit to supply the power. On the other hand, we need to maintain and practice the power God has given to shed the life-giving Light into the dark world about us. Reading, studying, living out the Bible in our lives, and sharing the gospel message with others is how we light up the darkness in the world .
No, Grandmother, the light source is not in the lamp itself. The power comes from the dynamo down the lane. The Light source we carry in us is not from ourselves; the Light came with the suffering of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross to bear our eternal darkness.
Challenge: What are you doing to maintain a bright light in a dark world?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, we are sometimes timid about keeping our lamps lit brightly in the darkness about us. We fear ridicule; we fear confrontation. Help us to truly believe You and to depend upon You as the source of power. Help us not to slip into the notion of some light sourced from within ourselves. Open up the light you have put within us to enlighten others who walk in darkness. Amen
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5: 14-16
[i] https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/70/High-Current_Copper-Brush_Commutated_Dynamo.jpg/330px-High-Current_Copper-Brush_Commutated_Dynamo.jpg
