Psalm 131

¹ Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me.

² Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

³ Let Israel hope in the Lord from henceforth and for ever.

For anyone that is not familiar with Psalm 131, that is all the verses, just three. In the brevity of this scripture is danger of overlooking an important lesson because there is not a lot of setup, context or observation material. There is however one image which should be startling, the mother’s weaned child.

Thankfully in life we do not have an abundance of examples of children weaned unnaturally late. There is only one example I can draw from in a scene from the series Game of Thrones. A child of ten is seen nursing and as disturbing as the scene might be, it is compounded when revealed that this boy is the Lord of the Vale.

Relate this in biblical terms. The woman represents the church in scripture. The weaning represents the churches insistence that its child must grow in Christ and be dependent upon the church as the only source of spiritual nourishment. It is the churches responsibility to see that its children are weaned and not made dependent solely upon the church for growth in Christ.

I can think of nothing more disturbing than turning over church leadership to men who have not been weaned.

1 Timothy 3:8-10  Likewise must the deacons be grave, not doubletongued, not given to much wine, not greedy of filthy lucre; Holding the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let these also first be proved; then let them use the office of a deacon, being found blameless.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Think three way bulb right now. You make that first click and a low wattage illumination is created. Turn it again and the light amplifies. Turn it the third time and you have maximum illumination.

If you compare the first turn to the way, the second the truth and the third to the life, you might recognize a better and brighter relationship with God the Father.

What about the last part of John 14:6, no one comes to the Father except by Jesus? How does that relate to the three way bulb?

Ever put a three way bulb into a standard lamp?

You are the three way bulb and if you are not plugged into Jesus, you can follow the way, but truth will not shine and the life you could have had in Christ will never appear.

Christians who are not plugged into Jesus are like that three way bulb in an on/off lamp. They are the ones that show up on Christmas and Easter. Maybe they attend church regularly. Is once a month regular? Sure why not. How about weekly or even twice a week? Sure, it is all about the bulb.

Each and every one of us is a three way bulb because we were created in the image of God, the Triune God. Nothing differs in any of us except this one thing; where are you plugged in?

If you are plugged into Christ my three way friend, which illumination setting are you? Off, one, two or full illumination? Not sure? Don’t concern yourself too much with that question.

The bulb doesn’t control the illumination switch.