Nice work, is it new?

I finished a simple electrical project in our house during the holiday weekend. It had been partially finished for quite some time, but I wanted to do the work when neither air conditioning or heating would be a dire necessity -- just in case I had trouble with the breakers or anything.

After my wife and daughter returned from their travels, I accompanied them to the basement to show off my handiwork.

They stopped and inspected the wall plug and metal conduit running up the wall, where I had now plugged in our storage freezer. Ooh's and ahh's for the professional looking work and convenience of having an extra 20-amp plug.

I hesitated to tell them at first, and allowed a bemused smile to break out on my face.

"What's so funny?" my daughter asked?

"Well," I answered, "that's not what I did this weekend. That wall plug and conduit have been right there for the last two years. All I did was connect it to the breaker box...on the other end of the basement."

They both had a hard time believing they had been walking past the nicely done, but power-less electrical receptacle for more than two years.

We shouldn't be surprised if people don't suddenly recognize a change in us whenever we've experienced a new Spiritual insight or heard a great sermon. They're just walking past the same receptable (you/me) that was there yesterday. Looks nice, can't really use it.

But plug into the breaker box and get some power - now they can see the actionable value in their midst - you can safely plug in the freezer unit instead of haphazardly draping a wire from the light socket in the midde of the room.

I've done a lot of "nice work" on my spirtual life in past years - more Bible study, more prayer - looks nice and tidy on the wall there; but the real results are where God's power has taken action and transformed it to accomplish his good intentions: service, love, compassion, mercy, forgiveness.

You've got to plug the conduit into the power box.

What do you believe?