Bjcorbin's Blog

When Nicodemus asked Jesus about being, “born again,” He told him that he needed to be “born of the Spirit”; explaining that, “Flesh gives birth to flesh”, while “the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”  I’m not sure whether that cleared it up for Nicodemus, and I’m equally unsure of how well we grasp the implications of what He was saying.  Ultimately, we humans exist in two realms, the natural realm, and the spiritual realm.  Because God is Spirit, the heavenly realm is eternal, while creation (i.e. the natural realm) is God’s gift to mankind, and is temporary.  By His design, the resources of heaven have been made available to mankind within the natural realm, through the power of His Holy Spirit.  His word tells us not to focus on the seen realm, which is perishing; but to look to the unseen realm, which is eternal.  He instructs us to pray that His Kingdom come and His will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  And He warns us that, “what is pleasing to the flesh, is not pleasing to the Spirit”; encouraging us to follow the leading of His Holy Spirit.  By these, and many other scriptures, He makes both His desire to interact with us, and to bring the things of heaven to earth, clear.  Yet, He also gives us a free will, and allows us to decide for ourselves how we want to live.

As I pondered this design, I was reminded of the power distribution system for the submarine on which I served many years ago.  This ingenious system supplied power for both the Alternating Current (AC) and the Direct Current (DC) electrical loads.   The AC side was equipped with two large, turbine driven generators, which were capable of providing all of the power the ship would ever need.  A nuclear reactor provided a tremendous source of heat, which in turn produced the steam needed to drive those generators.  The DC side was equipped with a battery, which was really just a backup for when steam was unavailable.  These two systems were connected by a unique machine called a motor-generator (MG).  When the turbine generators were producing AC power, the AC side of the MG was a motor, which drove the DC side to be a generator.  In this configuration, the turbine generators could supply all of the power loads (both AC & DC), and charge the battery.  But when steam was lost, the battery supplied power to the MG, making the DC side a motor, which drove the AC side as a generator.  In this configuration, the battery could supply only critical loads, for a limited amount of time.

The similarities between these two power distribution systems is striking.  The thermal energy produced by the nuclear reactor represents the infinite power stored within the heavenly realm, while the battery represents our limited capacity to function under our own power.  The MG’s are a reflection of mankind, which is connected to both realms, and has the ability to be a conduit for the flow of power in either direction.  When we choose to live by what is seen (i.e. by our own understanding, by how we feel, by our own sense of righteousness, by our appetites, by our instincts, by our wits, by our fears, by our gut…) we are ultimately sustained by our own limited resources.  While we may be able to create some sense of normalcy for a season, we live at a very low ebb, easily becoming weary, and discouraged.  The repercussions of this choice transcend the natural realm and carry over into the spiritual realm.  Conversely, when we stake our identity in the One who made us, and invest our hope in His plan for us, and yield our lives to the leading of His Spirit, we tap into the source of life eternal.  Not just for the next life, but for our lives here in the natural realm.  In this configuration, we become a conduit for love and light; not just for ourselves, but for those around us.  It is a life that few of us have witnessed, and even fewer have lived.

I believe that this is what Jesus means by “abiding in the vine”.  Connected to the inexhaustible source of love and light.  If that isn’t what our lives are like, maybe it’s time for us to reverse our polarities, and to allow ourselves to be driven from the heavenly realm.  Maybe then we will become generators of the light that we’ve been called to be.