Don't Mix Electricity And Water

Yesterday I did something really stupid. Due to living in a house with a lot of stairs, I was using a kettle upstairs in my bedroom, so I didn’t have to go downstairs! It was on the floor plugged into an extension lead (it won’t plug into the wall due to having a different plug fitting). My daughter came into the bedroom and walked right into the kettle. It fell over, spilling water onto the extension lead, giving me a mild electric shock. Then the room went black as the electricity automatically switched off. 

I could have blamed my daughter, who knocked over the kettle. 

I could have blamed Italy for being the only European country that doesn’t actually have EU plug sockets, which is why I was using the extension lead in the first place. 

But of course, the only person to blame was me for my own laziness, and stupidity. When I was at school we had to make safety posters for different topics, and the one I chose to do was, ‘don’t mix electricity with water,’ showing someone getting fried for having water near electricity. Now I was that person! 

I have no idea if the shock would have been worse if the electricity hadn’t cut out, but it made me think. That automatic shut-down situation is kind of like how God operates. 

We make stupid decisions. We do all the risky things, following the wrong gods and worshipping all kinds of idols, journeying into the dark and dangerous spiritual realm without a guide or any proper training. And then in a split second, if we call out to God, via Jesus Christ, he will shut down the system in an instant, and we will be saved. 

Like the thief on the cross who was crucified with Jesus. He never went to a single church meeting or Bible study, and yet he too was saved at the last possible moment, simply because he believed. 

Yesterday, funnily enough, before this incident I was meditating on the line ‘the wages of sin are death.’ It’s not God who sends us to hell for not following him, anymore than it would be the electricity supply’s fault that I didn’t follow any of the safety guidelines. It is simply the way the world is set up that if we continue to go against God’s divine laws we will die. 

When I first became a Christian, I found the idea that we don’t deserve to be saved a bit harsh. But gradually I’ve realised that if we spend our entire lives doing the exact opposite of these divine laws then it is literally true. 

Jesus is the graceful hand that will flip the switch and turn off the death current that is powering our lives at our own invitation. All you have to do is call out. 

And just like the electric shock comes with no warning, so too will the end. ‘For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman.’ (Matthew 7-21-23) The safety system has to be set up in advance for it to operate. We do have to know Jesus beforehand.  

If you are wondering about the truth of the Bible and if Jesus really is the one that saves, then don’t delay getting to know him before it’s too late.