When my brother was young, he would be the one to check the family before we went away on a holiday. “Did you unplug the iron?” he would say to our mother. “Is the stove off?” We could go once he was satisfied that nothing was left connected that shouldn’t be.

As a teenager, my brother kept a tank in his bedroom with tropical fish that he had bought with his own money. They were his pride and joy. We especially liked to watch the black and white angelfish gracefully waving its long fins as it slowly swam back and forth. It was a beauty.

Our family was getting ready to go on a camping trip to Long Beach, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. We were fairly new at camping, and there was a lot to get ready. All our equipment and supplies had to be in order and packed.

Do you know where this story is going? Everything had to be turned off or unplugged before we could go, right? My mum had been well conditioned, so she went around the house pulling plugs. You got it: she pulled the plug to the fish tank! When we got back, my brother was devastated to find his beloved angelfish belly-up on the surface of the water. All the other fish were dead as well. No happy bubbling sounds could be heard, and the water was still. The fish needed oxygen, and their life-giving supply had been cut off. It was a sad scenario.

Just as an electrical connection was vital to the supply of oxygen for the fish tank, so are connections vital in our Christian life.

“Yet now [God] has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.” (Colossians 1:22 NLT)

First of all, we must become connected to God through faith. Jesus has paid the price so that we may have eternal life, not just life forever and ever, but a new dimension of life, vitally connected to Him. Our sins are forgiven, and we can have this forgiveness anytime we mess up, if we ask.

“But you must continue to believe this truth and stand firmly in it. Don’t drift away from the assurance you received when you heard the Good News.” (Colossians 1:23a NLT)

We must nurture the connection that we have experienced, through the action of the Holy Spirit.

“Let your roots grow down into him and draw up nourishment from him. See that you go on growing in the Lord, and become strong and vigorous in the truth you were taught. Let your lives overflow with joy and thanksgiving for all he has done.” (Colossians 2:7 TLB)

Let’s continually stay close to Jesus, commune with Him through prayer, quickly confess any sin, and read and study His Word to find out what God is like and what He expects of us. That way, we will stay connected with Him and live, and not die spiritually, like the unfortunate fish, disconnected from the source of life.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, we come to You with thanksgiving that You have joined us to Yourself. Help us to stay connected to You through Your Word. Help us to remember that without being vitally connected to You, we can do nothing. In Your name, we pray. Amen.

Copyright © 2021, by Alice Burnett <terrencera.burnett@gmail.com>, first published on the PresbyCan Daily Devotional presbycan.ca .
Red Deer, Alberta, Canada

Reprinted from PresbyCan with author’s permission