Spiritual Magnetism

L

ife in the sixth grade was anything but boring.  I remember this as being one of the most pivotal years of my education.  It was the last year of elementary school, the last year of having only one or two teachers, and the last time I would keep my books tucked safely beneath my desk.  Junior high school and the seventh grade loomed large on the horizon so I determined to make my sixth-grade experience count for everything.

As a young boy, I loved science.  Anything that explained how things were put together and how things worked caught my attention.  I don’t think my sixth-grade teacher, Mrs. Houser, ever forgave the bunch of boys who got into her chemistry kit and mixed things together in a small plastic container and watched as it exploded!  It was awesome but unfortunately Mrs. Houser didn’t share our enthusiasm!

A safer science lesson came in the form of the magnet.  Mrs. Houser passed around different magnets and pieces of metal and we all took turns watching as the magnets grabbed and pulled the pieces of steel rapidly toward them.  You could feel the attraction one piece of metal had for another and the pull was so strong sometimes that the magnet literally pulled the piece of metal out of my hand.  While I was amazed and fascinated with these two pieces of metal, I became more enthralled when Mrs. Houser passed around two magnets marked with a capital N on one end and a capital S on the other.

At her instruction, we held the N of one magnet close to the S of the other.  Amazingly, the two magnets joined forces and became one piece of metal.  However, the experiment didn’t work in the opposite direction. When the N of one magnet approached the N of the other magnet the two pieces of metal pushed away from each other.  In fact, it was impossible to make them join forces.  The same thing happened with the ends marked S.  What Mrs. Houser wanted us to learn was the principle that opposite forces attract while similar forces repel each other.

There is a direct parallel between my sixth-grade science class and our walk with the Lord.  As Christians, we live in the world and our job is to attract others to Jesus Christ.  Just like that magnet in Mrs. Houser’s room, if we would attract others and lead them to Christ, we must be just the opposite of what we see in the world.  Jesus used the picture of a light shining in the darkness to attract and draw people to the truth.  In Matthew 5:14-16 he says, “You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.”

The first thing we must notice in this passage is Jesus’ description of his followers. We are light in a dark world.  Jesus does not give us a choice, if we are truly his disciples and his children then we are light.  Light is always the opposite of darkness and attracts people to its source.  Second, we cannot hide from the world.  It is impossible to hide a lit candle in a dark room and the same is true for Christians.  We will and must stand out against the darkness of this world.  We must let our light shine so others will come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.

The purpose of our light shining in the darkness is that others will see our light and praise our Heavenly Father.  We are not in this for any pats on the back or so others will compliment us on our good behavior and thoughtful deeds.  We let our lights shine so that God may be praised.  Everything we do must point to God and must bring honor and glory to Him.  When we stop bringing glory to God and try to take all the credit for ourselves, we become like the rest of the world.  Then, instead of attracting others to God, we repel them.  We must guard against this!  Sadly, one of the must condemning criticisms of Christians is that it is sometimes impossible to distinguish us from the world system.  We say one thing but our actions indicate that we believe or hold to another series of principles. 

Today, as we walk with the Lord, let us ask ourselves how our spiritual magnets are working.  Are we living a life opposite to the world thus attracting others to our message or are we living a life in line with the world, repelling others from accepting the truth about Jesus Christ?  How well are we applying the principles of spiritual magnetism to our lives today?