Plug It In

I don't remember where I heard (or read) this story, but I know for a fact that it's not something I came up with on my own. I've always thought it was an amusing anecdote and most of the people I've told it to like it too, so I figured I'd post it here so other folks could read it.

There was a vacuum cleaner salesman making his rounds through Indiana, going door to door peddling his wares. It's important to note, though, that the vacuum cleaner the man was selling wasn't any ordinary vacuum. It was a high-class, top-of-the-line, top-grade dirt-sucking machine. 

It was a wonderful machine---the Eighth Wonder of the World, the salesman would sometimes claim---and was a perfect example of the triumphs of modern engineering. It had all the features you could ever want in a vacuum, and it had features that no other vacuum had.

There were a gazillion settings (or so the salesman claimed) for different types of floors, carpets, and surfaces. The vacuum hose had several dozen attachments, including one that sucked the lint out of your pockets and another that sucked the snot out of your nose.

The wheels had German-made ball bearings (the best kind) and the motor that powered the vacuum had been designed in Sweden. There was a little light on the front that lit up the surface you were vacuuming, a cup holder so you could drink and clean, and an on/off switch. It was a truly amazing machine.

Wow. Five paragraphs already? Maybe I should think about selling vacuum cleaners for a living.

Anyway, enough about the vacuum cleaner. Back to the salesman. As he was making his rounds through the Indiana countryside, he happened upon a farmhouse and decided that he would pitch his vacuum cleaner to whoever was living there. He walked up the steps of the front porch and knocked on the door.

A woman opened the door and said, "Can I help you?" The salesman flashed his winning smile and said, "The real question, ma'am, is can I help you? You see, ma'am, I have a vacuum cleaner with me that's going to change your life, and I'd like to show it to you."

The woman invited the man inside, at which point he began showing off all the cool features of the vacuum cleaner he was selling. He showed her the cup holder and the on/off switch. He showed her the gazillion settings. He even showed her the pocket-lint attachment for the vacuum hose.

Then, the salesman pulled a large jar of dirt out of his briefcase. As he was opening the jar, he said, "Ma'am, I'd like to demonstrate the capabilities of this fine machine. I'm going to make a mess, but this vacuum is going to suck every last bit of dirt up. And if it doesn't, you can give me a spoon and I'll eat whatever's left on the floor."

As the woman stood by watching, the salesman dumped jars of dirt, sand, gravel, dust, and pet hair all over her carpet. All the while, the pitchman kept exalting the virtues of the vacuum he was selling. When he'd finished making a mess of the woman's house, he began looking around for an outlet so he could plug his vacuum in.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said, "but is there an electrical outlet I can use?" The woman walked into her kitchen and returned with a spoon. She handed it to the salesman and said, "I'm Amish."

*     *     *     *     *

Whether the vacuum cleaner was everything it was cracked up to be, I couldn't say. But I can say---beyond a shadow of a doubt---that without electricity, the vacuum cleaner wasn't able to do anything useful. 

There are a lot of things in the world that require some sort of external source to make them useful. A flashlight isn't much good without batteries, and those toilets that can flush an inordinate number of ping-pong balls aren't terribly useful (or sanitary) unless they're hooked up to a source of water and a drain.

Cars won't run without gas, coffee won't brew without hot water, and plants won't grow without roots. All of these things are so intuitive that we rarely pay them much attention; we simply assume that if a car is running, there must be gas in the tank. If a plant is growing, we immediately come to the conclusion that it must have roots.

Sometimes, we don't realize that Christians also need an external source to be useful. Check it out:

"Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you."

John 15:4-7 (ESV)

Just like a car needs gas to run and a plant needs roots to grow, Christians need God's help if we plan on living for Him. The metaphor that Jesus uses in this passage is a powerful one. Just as a branch won't bear any fruit if it's not part of the vine, Christians won't bear any fruit if they're not in unity with God.

Notice how the passage reads, "apart from me, you can do nothing." It doesn't say, "you can do a few things," or "you won't be able to your best." Apart from Jesus, you can do nothing. Nada. Zip. Think of the vacuum cleaner. With no electricity, it could do nothing. It couldn't suck the lint out of a pocket, much less suck the dirt, sand, and gravel off of the Amish woman's floor. Without electricity, the vacuum was useless.

As Christians, I think that we sometimes lose sight of how much we really need God. Instead of relying on His strength and His wisdom, we rely on our own. That doesn't really sound all that bad, but consider this: when the vacuum relied on its own power---not on the electricity---what was it able to do?

The correct answer would be "nothing." By itself, the vacuum cleaner didn't have any power on which to rely. It had an inherent need for an external source of power; there's no way the vacuum could have provided its own electricity. In the same way, Christians have an inherent need for God. The power He provides is something that we can't replicate, no matter how hard we try.

The Bible makes it clear that the only way a Christian can accomplish anything in this life is by relying on God---by being "plugged in" to the vine, so to speak. Before Jesus died, He told His disciples that if they placed their trust in Him, they could do great things (John 14:1, 12-14). And in Matthew 17:20, He tells His disciples that even with a little faith, they could move mountains.

I think that sometimes, we try to separate God from being a Christian, but that really doesn't make any sense. We all know that a car won't move under its own power and that a plant won't grow without a source of nutrients. The same logic applies to Christians; without God's power, we simply aren't able to do anything.

I'd like to close with a passage from Proverbs. The advice it gives us is so simple, but it can be so hard to keep. Check it out:

"Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6 (ESV)

A Christian without God is like a car without gas or a plant without roots. Are you plugged into the vine?