The Torch Lesson

Live long enough and you will have experiences that supply beneficial lessons God can use to live wisely.  Today I had one of those moments when a situation provided insight beyond the surface and speaks spiritual truth.

When I went to change the batteries in my favourite torch, I noticed the lack of the familiar rattle of the batteries inside.  To my surprise the alkaline batteries over a year had swollen in size and were stuck fast in the aluminium housing.  Try as I might, I could not make them budge.  Tapping the end of the torch on a piece of wood making use of gravity had no impact, and grabbing the end of the battery with needle-nose pliers popped the circular end off!  I could see the end was blackened and oily, welded tight to the torch all around.  This was not a good sign.

So I did what many people had before me:  look for posts on the internet by people who had the same issue and succeeded in fixing the problem.  This led to me drilling a pilot hole in the battery for a lag bolt to pull it out, using washers as leverage.  All I did was take a core-sample from the stubborn battery.  I warmed the housing with a heat gun:  nothing.  What was very interesting is when I tried to grab the hollowed-out battery with pliers the light flicked on brighter than it had when it was switched on previously.  Ultimately I reached a point where methods of extraction required so much force I ran the very high risk of permanently damaging the torch or injuring myself, so into the bin it went.

Thankfully I had another torch of the same kind stored away that will work nicely for the foreseeable future.  But what occurred to me is the long passage of time I knew the light from the torch was growing more dim and I never bothered to open it up and change the batteries.  I have tons of batteries of the proper size, so that wasn't the issue.  Neglect of doing the simple act of opening up the housing and taking a look when performance began to suffer ended up in the torch being unusable and destroyed.  It reminded me of our need as followers of Jesus to take the time to examine our own hearts.  Just because we are in fine health on the outside does not mean our thoughts or motives are pure or we are free from sin.  Even as the torch was amazingly able to function with a massive hole drilled through the centre of a battery, so we can go through the motions of life, family and ministry when we are in dire need of personal revival and restoration.

The light of a torch shines away from the batteries, and thus it is necessary for someone to use a different light to examine them.  As insightful as we might be concerning ourselves, we are not nearly as discerning as our God who created us.  It is His gaze we must invite and submit to, choosing to heed His voice.  That is why David prayed in Psalm 139:23-24, "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; ²⁴ and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting."  God knows and sees what man cannot, and in love He will point out of sins and worries man tries to justify.  Praise the LORD He knows us and loves us, and the Light of the World Jesus Christ makes us to shine bright by the power of the Holy Spirit according to His grace.  A new heart and a renewed mind is ours when we humble ourselves before the LORD in contrite faith.