When I was in college, I went on a mission trip to New Orleans to help with the cleanup after Hurricane Katrina. The city had been devastated by the storm just several months prior. Lives were uprooted and billions of dollars of damage later, the city was left in a state of peril and in desperate need of help.
We worked for more than a week pulling out moldy drywall, tearing out cabinets and chucking furniture. In essence we were the demo team and the cleanup crew. The flood waters had wreaked havoc on homes throughout the neighborhood where we were working. The work site was eerie and quiet almost like a scene out of a movie. You could walk into a house and it was like someone still lived there. Coke cans left out, books left open, dinner still left on the table. It was creepy and silent, but also really gross. Homes had been without power for a couple of months so, as you can imagine, it was a sea of smells.
We did a lot of demolition, but the grossest thing by far was removing the refrigerators. Since the power was cutting off, the food and everything inside of the fridge was just left there… sitting. It was incredible, the fridge could look completely new on the outside, but the inside was just rotting away.
I think that’s how we are sometimes. We’re like a fridge that was meant to be plugged in. We are meant to be plugged into the God who loves us and made us for Himself. However, we can plug ourselves into things that don’t satisfy or last. Even though we can look great on the outside and put up an ideal picture that we have it all together, the reality is that without being connected to the One who gives us life, we can slowly begin to rot away on the inside, just like a fridge that has become unplugged.
Jesus reminds us in John 15:5: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” My dear friends, stay connected. Drink deeply from the well that Jesus provides. Be encouraged and recognize that life comes from Jesus. Center your life on Him.
Kyle
