Dead Batteries

I couldn't figure it out. It had me confused and irritated. The remote worked just fine the day before. Not any longer, just like that, it simply stopped working. It must be the batteries, I thought. So, I scrambled around the rental house not knowing where anything was and frantically searched for new ones. Not finding any, I did what any grown male adult would do, I took some batteries out of another remote.

Plugging in the new batteries, I felt pretty accomplished. Problem solved. But..... still nothing. I tried different angles, got closer to the TV, did the old spin the battery trick and even smacked it a few unhelpful times. No dice!

Susan, sensing my frustration entered the scene to assist. Surveying the room, she quietly walked over to the tv and plugged it in.

"...the gifts and sacrifices that the priests offer are not able to cleanse the consciences of the people who bring them." (Hebrews 9:9) 

The Hebrew people were trying to solve the right problem: Please God and get to Heaven. They were just doing it the wrong way: Laws, rules, customs and traditions. Gifts and sacrifices don't cleanse the conscience nor mend the heart. Right problem, wrong solution. The only thing you need to get to heaven is permission from the Man on the middle cross. So ask for it.

It amazes me how often we try to solve the right problem the wrong way. And like I did with the batteries for the remote, we can get so convinced in our own solutions we completely miss the obvious one. We over complicate things, become entrenched in our own thinking and manic about our approach. Only to find out we were wrong and if we simply solicited another levelheaded viewpoint, we could have avoided a lot of hassle.

The Hebrew people couldn't get out of their old routines and into the new reality of Christ. We do that all the time. If the remote isn't working today, don't run out and buy batteries until you make sure the TV is plugged in. And if your life feels like you are walking around with dead batteries, you might make sure you are plugged into the right power source.