When Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1879, he had a particular purpose in mind. Namely, the light bulb was created to emit light. It was wired to work a certain way and perform a certain task. To use it for purposes other than that for which it was created would result in disaster.
Baseball, for instance.
Have you ever tried to play baseball with a light bulb? Me neither. That’s because we know it would end badly. The light bulb would break and no longer be able to provide light as it was intended.
Imagine that you decided to go ahead and try it anyway. Chances are, it would take about one pitch for the light bulb to shatter to pieces.
Now imagine someone came along, got down on his hands and knees in the dirt, and began putting the light bulb back together. Imagine that when he was finished, after hours of diligent labor, the light bulb not only worked again, but shone even brighter than before. Would you ever play baseball with a light bulb again? Of course not. Lesson learned.
The truth, though, is that we play baseball with light bulbs every day.
God wired us to work a certain way. He created us for a particular purpose – namely, to represent and reflect His heart and character every moment of our lives.
Sin willfully and purposefully goes against what God originally intended for our lives.
It’s like playing baseball with a lightbulb.
Our sin shatters us.
But on the cross, Jesus put the pieces back together.
He restored us to our original condition, able to once again represent and reflect the God who made us, to once again shine as we were meant to shine.
Let’s stop working against our design and begin working with and for our Creator.
He knows far better than we what He intended when He made us.