devotional

 

The Parable of the Thermostat

 

Michael Zigarelli

 

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I have a thermostat in my office that controls the temperature for our entire suite. Or, at least, it allegedly controls the temperature. Sometimes it seems that there’s really no correlation between the thermostat and the climate. I came in today and the thermostat was set on 70…but it was 58 degrees in the office! So I moved the thermostat to 75 and a few hours later it was 60 in the office. Being a researcher, I went one more step and set the thermostat to 55 to see what would happen. A few hours later, it was 65 in my office. Hmmm.

The thing’s busted, there’s little doubt about that. But I’ve been adjusting it for weeks without ever knowing it didn’t work. It gave me the illusion of control when, in fact, I had no control at all! I thought I had power, but all along, I had none.

There may be thermostats all over the world taking part in this conspiracy. Who knows? But one thing I do know, as I reflect on the climatology of the workplace, is that this saga might be a helpful parable. Just as I thought, mistakenly, that I was in control of the temperature, so many people think, mistakenly, they’re in control of their eternity. The reality is that they we have no control over that at all. It’s by God’s grace, not by our efforts, that we’re justified before God. Once we “confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Then the angels celebrate as our name is written in the Book of Life.

Despite that, the world sells us a different message, the message of self-sufficiency, the message of earning, the message of works-based salvation. It puts a thermostat in front of us and says “you have the power.”

That’s a lie when it comes to salvation. The man-made eternity thermostat is busted. It never worked and it never will. Like my snickering conspirator on the wall, it only offers the illusion of control.

So quit messing with it, my friend. We’re not in charge of the one thing that matters most. And thanks be to God for that.

 

Michael Zigarelli is an Associate Professor at Messiah College and the editor of Christianity9to5.org.