Oh.. to be a magnet

Four winters ago I embarked on my very first snowmobile trip with the some fellow pastors at my church in Gresham, OR. What I experienced that day was very much unexpected. The story goes like this....

The entire day had been whispers of snow and shouts of chill. What a blast it had been to ride atop Mount St. Helens on a beautiful sunny day! Yet, as the day neared its end, we dragged our snowmobiles into their respective trailers, and likewise brought our sun burnt, sore bodies to a resting place in the parking lot. Tired and sore, I found myself sprawled out on the floor of one of trailers. My snow-soaked jacket dripped steadily, and my body became warm and settled. Once everyone was comfortable, conversation turned toward topics of crashes and spills, dangerous stunts, and exhilarating, yet dicey decisions made by all. As we sat there, unwound and lazy, I noticed that one of the elders from the church was holding something. It was a metal of sorts, long and slender. He quickly took attention to my interest, and tossed me what turned out to be a set of magnets.

What’s important to understand is that ever since childhood, I have been fascinated with magnets. I could never quite understand how two otherwise dull and colorless objects had the potential to produce such movement. For the remainder of the afternoon I obsessed over the magical power of these magnets, the way one magnet snatched the other in mid-air. These particular magnets seemed overly energized and full of magnetic force. They pulled and grabbed, stuck and stayed.

Still today, it amazes me that magnets do not have to try to be powerful. They just ARE. They are always magnetic, always pulling, always energetic. They need no encouragement, no purpose, no leadership. Magnets were born to be powerful.

Every so often I have to remind myself that I am not a magnet. Unlike magnets, we do not create reactions and induce physical movements like magnets do. In respect to our lives as Christians, I find that often we ignorantly believe that we are magnetic, however failing to produce any measurable motion. Take for example being a Christian witness to the people that surround us. A “magnetic Christian” would not have to think or try to witness. The power to discuss and expel our belief and excitement in Jesus does not automatically radiate from our body. Believe or not, we have to try. If we were a magnet, following through on the actions of the Christian life would not be a choice, it would simply be.
The simple fact is, unlike magnets, it takes a conscious effort to allow God to work through you. It takes thought, contemplation, planning, energy and purpose in order to find yourself acting out your Christian faith. So often in life we assume that simply wearing the Christian nametag will bring about faith-based action in our life. Get real! Becoming like Jesus means we must make a radical decision to stop simply being, and to start living. Do you believe in Jesus as your Savior? If so, what are you doing about it?

James 2:17-18 says, "So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all--it is dead and useless. Now someone may argue, "Some people have faith; others have good deeds." I say, "I can't see your faith if you don't have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds."

Most Christians say that they want to see lives changed; to bring hope to the hopeless, to listen and live the life God has called them to be. You too may have said these words. The only thing stopping Christians from attaining these desires is our inability to place commitment and action to our bold, yet reachable proclamations.

I like magnets because their power is automatic. I believe God loves us because our power is not. We must choose to be empowered, excited, magnetic. What will you choose?