Lights in the Darkness

I am not a plumber or the son of a plumber. I can roof your house or do your yard work. I might help you with home improvement things that do not require much skill, but plumbing - not my cup of tea. However, when Teri got four sets of faucets for the various downstairs bathrooms, what choice did I have? Last Monday, I had a list of things to do around the yard and putting in bathroom fixtures was not one of them. I had been avoiding them like the plague, actually hoping someone would break in and steal them, when Teri asked me in a kind voice, “Why don’t you put in the faucets.” I smiled and in an equally nice voice said, “I would be happy too.”It took over three hours, two trips to Lowe’s, and a long conversation on the phone with Master Plumber Chip Taylor to finally get the first one in. It was awful. I mean, it looks easy, but I was reminded in putting in the faucets that there is a difference in knowing about plumbing and knowing plumbing. I almost flooded one bathroom. Nothing in the doing of the thing looked like the pictures and I simply couldn’t figure out how to get the drain out of the bottom of the sink.I called Chip; I was a broken, mad, frustrated, and defeated man. He calmly talked me off the ledge and because he “knows plumbing,” instructed me in what to do. After this conversation, I was able to finish the first faucet. The amazing thing is that the next three took less than an hour and a half!I have thought about this all week and especially as it relates to the text we are looking at this week. Paul makes an amazing statement. He says to his young congregation as they work out their salvation, that they will be like “lights in the darkness” to the world around them. As their lives are changed by the gospel they will actually bring heaven to earth. We are going to talk about that this Sunday and how God changes us and makes us more like Jesus. As we will see, it is a little like my plumbing project - you learn in the doing, you need mentors and models and... well, I won’t preach the sermon here. Hope to see you Sunday and we’ll finish the conversation.Blessings,Jim