Of Thermometers and Thermostats
Every summer the temperatures soar. With mercury on the
rise, oh how our tongues crave for that cool “elixir of life” (read water)! Also
how we wish controlling the temperature is well within our realm! That brings me
to the topic about two “heat-related” instruments…thermometer and thermostat.
For the uninitiated, if the former merely “registers” the temperature, the
latter “regulates” it. To further substantiate…while the thermometer reading
changes depending on the temperature around it, thermostat rather being
influenced by the temperature around it, changes the same for good.
Coming to the spiritual realm, there are only two types of believers’. If
“thermometer” Christians are influenced by outward circumstances and pressures
they bring in their wake to conform, the “thermostat “ believers rather than
going with the ungodly majority, stand-up and change the world around them for
good.
Continuing with the “heat” subject, what about three young, committed Jews
–Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego (Daniel 3)? They did not bend to Royal pressure
to worship a pagan idol, yes, even the threat of being thrown alive into the
fiery furnace, did not wither their spiritual resolve? The result of their holy
defiance and their eventual miraculous deliverance from the searing furnace? The
“villain” in the whole story -King Nebuchadnezzar- is transformed for good, so
much so He passes a royal edict that that true, living God of the Jews has to be
revered all through out his vast empire (Daniel 3:28-29). So the essence of this
story…despite being in fiery furnace, these men were NOT “thermometers” but
“thermostats” bringing about a beneficial “temperature change” in the lives of
King Nebuchadnezzar and many in His realm. Pray tell me dear reader, are you a
“thermometer” Christian or a “thermostat” one?
Prayer: Father in heaven, empower your child to be a positive influence in this
World, rather than being influenced by it. In Jesus Name. Amen.
Suresh Manoharan
Hyderabad-India
www.jandsmministries.com