Conduit

Vanity plates or prestige tags...If you're willing to pay the extra money, you can put just about anything you'd like to say on your license plate as long as it's not obscene and it doesn't contain any profanity . Driving around in Georgia, you see some pretty strange ones like "2 B Rich" or "1 Crash". Today, as I was driving home from church, I saw one that really made me stop and think. The car in front of us had "conduit" on it's tag. Now that's a funny word and if you don't know what it means, I'm sure you're curious by now. Conduit is a pipe or channel through which something flows. Electricians use conduit to feed electric wiring through. Plumbers use conduit to provide a way for water to flow. As I was thinking about conduit, it dawned on me that I am conduit, and let me explain why I say that.

Conduit doesn't possess any power in and of itself. It is merely a channel through which the power flows. As a Christian, I have the awesome responsibility to be a vessel through which the love of Christ flows out to others. I am a conduit for His love, grace, and mercy. If I am operating in the power of the Holy Spirit, the channel flows freely. All that God wishes to do in and through me will be accomplished according to His will. But, if my conduit, my channel, is blocked by selfish ambition or pride, then His love, grace, and mercy can't flow freely into the lives of others.

John 15:5 gives a good example of how my life should be as a conduit for Christ. "I am the vine, you are the branches. If you abide in my and I in you, you will bear much fruit for without me you can do nothing." For me to be able to pass on Christ's love, I have to be drawing my power and energy from Him. He is my power source! The only way I can do that is to stay connected to the vine. The vine has all of the sap and nutrients the branch needs to stay alive and to survive, but if you cut the branch off from the vine, it will slowly wither and die. When I am abiding in Christ, I am able to receive all Christ. Christ expects me to pass that on to someone else. He doesn't expect me to dam that up and hoard it for myself...therefore, I am a conduit.

The driver of the car in front of me never knew how much his car tag impacted me today. I'm sure he had some other reason for putting that word on his car tag and I'm sure I'll never know his reason. I do know that I want my channel, my conduit for Christ to be unobstructed so His love can flow from Him through me to others. My hope is that they will experience love, kindness, acceptance, mercy, and grace. In order for me to keep my conduit open, I have to daily choose to put aside pride, self ambition, and a self seeking nature. A conduit for Christ...I like the sound of that. How about you?

Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier. Be the living expression of God's kindness: kindness in your face, kindness in your eyes, kindness in your smile."
— Mother Teresa