Thursday, October 21, 2021

Radiators in a Cold World (a Steve Orr scripture reflection)

Mrs. Maguire’s algebra class wasn’t just cool. Some days it was down right cold!


Our spritely Algebra teacher could not abide attention-drift from any student. To make certain we paid attention, she opened the windows … in the dead of winter.

Winters in our little river city could be harsh. And when the wind off our two rivers came blowing up through the town? Bone-chilling. 

What saved us were the radiators. 

Lined up just below the windows was a row of steam-heat radiators blasting hot air into the room. You could still feel the cold air slicing in, but the radiators kept radiating enough heat to offset the worst of it.

A radiator —or “radiant” as it is called in some places— draws its heat from a central source. Without the right energy coursing through them, they could not radiate the heat we needed to offset the cold blowing into our Algebra class. If not connected to that central source, those radiators would be just so much cold metal … and no use at all in mitigating the winter chill. 

In this week’s selection from Psalm 34, the Psalmist says, "Those who look to Him are radiant....” (‭New International Version‬‬) A person can be a radiant, a conduit for energy outflow. It certainly was true of Moses. He spent so much time in God's presence that he glowed from the exposure. He became a radiant. 

We, too, are called to do as Moses. In the New Revised Standard Version, that same verse reads as a command: “Look to him, and be radiant....”

Those radiants kept us warm that winter in Mrs. Maguire's classroom, but only because they were connected to the source, the generator of all that steam heat. What about us? Are we radiants? Do we spend so much time in the presence of God that others cannot help but experience God's warmth and glow?

Look to Him, and be radiant.


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PHOTO CREDIT: Steve Orr

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Fall is such a busy time. Be sure to make time to enjoy come DaySpring’s Lectionary Breakfast on Friday morning. We gather at 8:00 for an hour of fellowship, scripture reading, discussion, prayer; plus a few laughs along the way. Join us on Zoom** or Our Breakfast Place for a sure fire way to ensure you have a great week.

Blessings,
Steve 

**Contact me for the Zoom link

NOTE: Zoom allows you to mute the camera if you don’t wish to be seen and to mute the microphone if you don’t wish to speak.

SCRIPTURES FOR SUNDAY & THE COMING WEEK
Find them here: 

Print them here:

Job 42:1-6, 10-17
Psalm 34:1-8, (19-22)
Jeremiah 31:7-9
Psalm 126
Hebrews 7:23-28
Mark 10:46-52
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