Cleaners
Luke 10:5-6 "Whatever house you enter, first say,
'Peace be to this house!' And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest
upon him. But if not, it will return to you." (ESV)
We have an upright vacuum cleaner for the downstairs carpets and kitchen and,
one upstairs with a long hose and arm to get around the bathroom and bedrooms
with all their nooks and crannies.
Usually the only time vacuum cleaners become the focus of my attention is when I
am directed to them by the household's main user, to clear up after I have made
a mess repairing something, or to fix them when they need attention.
Recently the one upstairs' motor was screaming away, so I had a look at it.
There was very little happening at the floor end of the pipe, apart from being
dragged about. When I inspected the dust collector it was clear, but the motor
was racing as if nothing was getting through and over-heating. So, I took out
the dust collector only to see that the lid on the collector had been put back
into the machine back-to-front: a design flaw. Consequently the hole for the
suction motor was disconnected. Therefore no suction!
When I turned the lid about and replaced it, normal suction was restored, the
motor was grateful: judging by the absence of smell from the hot windings in the
motor.
It made me reflect upon how lately I have been rushing about getting het up, and
wondering why I am not being effective, when I am seeking to be just that.
The answer sadly, is straight forward. One needs to get life the right way
around, including God into our day, and not going off by ourselves. If we have
no inner-peace how can we be an outlet for God to flow through us into others?
When we get it right, we can be connected by God's grace turning us about to be
effective, rather than just blow out hot air. In His will we receive from God
not only our forgiveness and cleansing, but I believe we can also impart His
peace in various ways to those we are taken to through the course of the day!
PRAYER: LORD as we come to you, we ask for the forgiveness of our sins. By the
power of the Cross, You have opened up the way for us to become acceptable
believers in Your sight, and effective channels of your peace. LORD, in a
troubled and divided world, please direct our minds to how we can pray best for
your Kingdom to come today in Jesus' name, amen.
Rod Marshall rmarshall@glos.ac.uk