We all have them;
at some point we need them, and they are hard to find.
I am not talking about friends when you need to move or relatives when you need money, but reset buttons.
Every electronic device we own that talks, pings or interacts with us has a reset button. They are the “use as a last resort option” when you have tried countless times to restart, reprogram a device and the black box smiles back at you, taunting you seemingly saying, “Now who is in charge.”
You frantically search the internet for directions because you discarded them long ago thinking you will never need them. Once located, you find the clues to uncover the reset button. The small aperture is usually as hard to spot as a needed friend who has a truck, or relative with spare cash, and is as small as Tinkerbell’s pinky. When you finally locate a #2 pencil with a point sharp enough to split an atom, you insert, press, and you and your electronic friend arrive at a restored relationship again. All is well in the universe again- until next time.
There are times in each of our lives when we wish we had a reset button. A relationship sours, jobs overwhelm, life threatens to overcome us. We look for that hidden button which will quickly and painlessly reset our lives to normal- until the next crisis.
God’s grace has provided a “life reset button’ for us. It is not hidden or hard to find. In the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the sign of His life- the cross, God did not hide it. It is easy to access. God has presented to each of us a sign that has emblazoned itself across the course of human history and the lives of those who have already taken advantage of it.
The problem for many is that they have lost the directions. I think of the story of the person walking by a church and asking a friend, “Why is there a plus sign on top of that building?”
Many walk by the symbol of the cross every day. They may even wear it, or have it inked into their skin. When asked some may respond, “I have never seen it.” Alternatively, “I have seen it, but I do not know what it means.” Others, “I once knew but I have forgotten.”
It is up to those who have discovered the power and the meaning of the cross in our lives to provide many opportunities to God’s reset button and make the directions of its use freely available to others.
I am grateful that I have discovered this in my life. I know that as I walk through my days there are many around me who have the need to reset their lives as well. They are more important than any device I may own. I pray I will never become inoculated to that need.
So, who will I help find their reset button next?