God’s Light Bulb

My husband has an engineer brain.
Anyone who knows an engineer, or is married to one, knows that is a true statement.
They have a different way of thinking.
They are trained to problem solve and that is what they do.

One often hears about left brain vs. right brain.
Left brain is: logic and reasoning, mathematics, and sequential thinking.
Right brain is: creativity and imagination, spatial awareness, and artistic abilities.
It is thought that people are either/or but in reality both sides work together in a complex brain.

That being said, my husband and I are the quintessential left brain/right brain couple.
He is logical, thinks sequentially, and is phenomenal at math and science.
I, on the other hand, am creative, with a vivid imagination and artistic abilities.
My art is seen in words and the way I put them together to tell a story.

Our difference can be seen in something as simple as a light bulb.
We have many recessed lights in our home and often they burn out.
They need to be replaced.
My husband has a certain way of replacing them.

It is not the way the bulb goes into the socket that is different.
It is what he does with the bulb before he replaces it.
My husband takes a Sharpie marker and writes the date on the base of the bulb.
He then screws the new bulb in the socket.

I watched him and asked him why he does that every time.
So I know when it was replaced and how long the bulb lasted, he told me.
He acted as if everyone does that, just to keep track.
I told him that I never heard of such a thing.

You can tell which light bulbs are replaced by me and which are replaced by my husband.
When I replace them, I never put a date on the base of the bulb.
I could see the frustration when my husband replaced one of “my” bulbs.
You do it your way and I do it my way, I said in a matter of fact way.

He never asked me to put the date on the bulb.
Even if he had, I probably would have forgotten.
If a bulb burns out, it needs to be replaced.
End of story; no date required!

I was sitting in church this past Sunday and heard something that went right to my heart.
The pastor, towards the end of his sermon, asked a simple question of us.
How bright is your bulb?
We are studying the book of Philippians.

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation. Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life. (Philippians 2:14-16)

The pastor asked us to hold out our Bibles.
Outstretched arms, with Bibles in our hands, were seen around the room.
You will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.
Shine like stars.

Outstretched arms with God’s Word being held out.
How others need to hear.
How others need to see.
God uses us to shine His light from us to them.

We are God’s light bulb.
The Word of God is the power that makes us shine.
We shine not for ourselves, but for Him and His Glory.
How bright is your bulb?