“God's up to something! No, I mean it – God's up to something. And I know I'm never going to find out what it is, and be a part of it, until I get off of what I'm down on.”
How
many times I've said that to myself, only half believing it. This
makes me think He's an 'all-the-way' God. Either you are all in, or
all out, of trusting Him.
My
name's Noah Pierson. As I sit at the end of the table of a storage
room watching teens take apart old computers and sort out their
parts, I just feel like something is missing in my service to Him.
This 'missing out' part of my attitude makes me wonder if some
unconfessed sin has led God to put me on the bench, with the chronic
spectators. I don't want to be there. Though my eyesight is not that
great, it's easy to see the emptiness in the eyes of the teens busy
with screwdrivers and other tools.
My
thoughts are broken occasionally by Bob, the white-haired leader of
the project, speaking to everyone in the room. The project is to
create teaching kits to be sent to missionaries in Mexico and
elsewhere. Bob held up a computer part and asked everyone in the room
to lay down their tools and pay close attention.
He
began, “I want you all to meet Mr. Funny Motor.” Bob had a
wonderful way of bringing lessons down to earth in a way that me and
my white hair could understand, and even share with others. I think
Bob could take about any part of an old computer system and make a
story; a parable out of it. The teen boys and girls listening, loved
him for it. You could tell his lessons were all from the heart,
because he'd always make each of us feel more important than any
thing in the computer, or anything the computer does.
In
his other hand, he held up the fan motor that keeps the computer
insides cool. He continued, “This fan motor we all see lots of them
all around us. These fan motors get turned on, and they spin
continuously, until you switch them off. There's nothing strange
about them. But I want to teach you about Mr. Funny Motor.”
Holding
up the funny motor, the lesson went forward. This guy; this funny
motor is almost never seen. He always seems to be back in the shadows
or squeezed in some little spot where noone cares to look. When in
reality, he should actually be getting the spotlight of lots of our
attention. Without this guy we wouldn't be able to print things on
our computers, store our files on disks and drives, and a thousand
other things beyond our thoughts. The list of their uses can be found
on the Internet, so I'll not take time here.”
“Our
funny motor here, acts like it has the jitters. It doesn't spin all
the way around and keep it up, like the fan motor here. Because of
the way the funny motor is made, it has to get it's electricity from
a computer, that sends it pulses of electricity. Something like
sending Morse code pulses along a wire. Well, this motor is able to
count the number of pulses and then knows how much to turn. It may
need to turn a few degrees, or half a revolution or lots of
revolutions. But it always knows exactly when to stop and maybe even
go back in the other direction.”
This
'funny motor' that seems like a nervous person; sort of jittery, is
actually called a 'Stepper Motor'. Say it with me will you? Stepper
Motor. OK. Great. All sorts of grinding machines that are run by
computers, are big users of stepper motors. They make airplane wing
parts, gasoline motor parts for cars and tons of other things that
make our lives more productive and safer.”
Bob
wrapped up his parable about stepper motors with, “I have to tell
you. I try very hard to be a stepper motor controlled by God's
direction and love for me. Stepper motors are crucial in getting
printer cartridges, drills and all sorts of things in the position
they need to be in. As God's stepper motor, I want to make sure I'm
in the position He wants me to be in, as I try to encourage all you
teens in His matchless love for each of you. Part of that right
position is to always keep myself in His shadow and promote Him to
always be in the spotlight of the lives and vision of others.”
“Just
like that poster on that wall over there reminds us, be cautious of the
sharp edges of the metal computer parts. And also don't put your
hands around your face until the parts have been disinfected and
you've washed your hands. OK... back to the fun.”
I
had gotten permission from Bob to borrow one of the stepper motors
for a couple days. For almost a whole week, I looked at that 'funny
motor' and wished God would show me how I could be fully connected to
His leading and help myself and others to get on God's path to
pleasing Him. Each day, I'd spend part of my Bible reading time
searching for the scripture code that would help me to find my
'place' in discovering what God is up to.
