Lessons from the Light Switch

I am a theologian. I am a pastor. I am a preacher. I’m not a handyman. My efforts at repairing things around the house are fairly inept. I’m not very good at do-it-yourself projects. I’m also equally inadequate at repairing things under the hood of my car.

During my time as a pastor of a church in Henry County I was privileged to have a fellow in the church by the name of Wayne. Wayne was very handy with things around the house. Whenever something broke around the house my wife would hide my toolbox and call Wayne. I really was never jealous of Wayne’s mechanical ability because I never heard Wayne preach.

Once during my tenure in Forsyth we had a light out in the master bathroom. I removed the bulb and tried a new one and still there was no light. I took my wife’s hair dryer and plugged it into an outlet in the bathroom and turned it on and it blew hot air so I could tell there was electrical current to the bathroom. I deducted that the problem must be the light switch.

{{more}}

I purchased a new light switch, installed it and we had light in the bathroom. Emboldened by my efforts, a few weeks later I attempted to replace a light switch in the den when the overhead den light would not work. This was a different type of switch because there was another switch for the same light on a different wall in the den.

I purchased another switch and replaced the broken switch. This time there was no light. There was a hissing sound behind the switch plate and the wall became very warm. I didn’t think this was a good sign so I called an electrician who told me, “You stick to preaching and leave my job to me.”

I walked over to the ceiling fan in my den Saturday morning and pulled the chain on the switch that turned on the light. The switch didn’t click as it should have and no light was forthcoming. I removed the bulb and tested it on a table lamp and the bulb worked fine. I pulled the chain that turns on the actual ceiling fan and the fan did not turn. Therefore, I went to the wall and flipped a switch and the fan turned but another pull on the light switch did not produce light.

Therefore, I surmised that the switch on the ceiling fan light needed replacing. My wife was out of town plus I didn’t know if Wayne would drive to Monticello from Henry County so I decided to tackle the project myself.

I rode over to Jasper County Lumber Company and purchased a new switch for the fan. I told my friends Joel and Greg at Jasper County Lumber that if they heard I had died from electrocution they would know why. Five dollars and sixty five cents was the purchase price and I was on my way.

I went home and turned the wall switch off preventing electrical current from reaching the ceiling fan. I removed the old switch noticing how it was connected. I removed other pieces of the light assembly as noted. I took the new switch from its package and connected a couple of wires. I went to the wall and flipped the wall switch and now for the moment of truth. I pulled the chain on the switch I had installed. “Let there be light,” I thought, and there was light.

I put everything back in its place, tightened the light globe into place and it was done. I sent my wife a text to tell her what I had done. She was a little reluctant to come home for fear of a house fire but she did indeed come home.

As I write these words the light still glows overhead. A complete repair for five dollars and sixty five cents, an electrician would have charged 10 times as much.

I’m not about to embark on a career as a handy-man. I will stick to being a theologian and a pastor. In as much as that is my “day job” I find it appropriate to reflect on the episode with the light switch in a theological way.

There are of things in life that we try to tackle on our own. Bookstore shelves are lined with books on self-help. Yet, there are things in life that we cannot do on our home. There are things in life that require a power greater than ourselves. First and foremost of these is salvation. We cannot on our own earn our way into the Kingdom of God. That can only come through God’s grace.

Salvation is not a do-it-yourself or self-help project.

That is why we celebrate at this time of year the birth of one who came from God to give us life and to show us God’s salvation. What Jesus has done for us we cannot do for ourselves. Rather than lament the fact that we cannot save ourselves it is far more important that we accept the fact and celebrate the wonderful gift of the grace of God.