Going Green: Alternative Energy

Going Green: Alternative Energy
by Adam Short

As I continue my quest to “go green” this year, I’ve been slowly but surely changing out all the light bulbs in my house to the more eco-friendly, lower-wattage, longer-lasting curly-Q light bulbs. You’ve seen them. They look funny, but they’re supposed to last like five years and use less energy. Of course, I’m only changing to these as the light bulbs in my house burn out. I’d say we are about 15% to the new ones; we have a long way to go. It’s good to try to use these new ones that take less energy, because we are trying to be nice to our planet by spending loads of money on light bulbs.

I had been thinking about power recently and the power of God and how it is so much more than what I can ever handle. I think of it this way: I put my finger in a light socket and I could die, but see, the power that comes out of that light socket, doesn’t even begin to compare to the power that God has. In fact, I couldn’t even come close to standing in his presence without dying. That’s some major power. But so many times we choose to seek out alternative power sources other than God.

God is the ultimate power source, and when I think about what he has created it really just blows me away. Think about the sun for a moment. The sun has the power to give us all the energy we need to heat, cool, and light our homes. If we had solar panels, we would never need any other energy source. That is just a glimpse of God’s power; he created the sun to give us all the energy we need, but too many times we’re just too stubborn to use the power he’s given us.

If someone came up to you and said they had a way to give you power that would be cheaper, cleaner, and would give you everything you need for the rest of your life, would you take it? That’s what God is asking of us this year, right now. He’s offering us an alternative energy that will sustain us for our whole life. If we want to go green spiritually this year, we have to tap into his power.

Adam Short is a youth pastor in Richmond, VA. Adam has a wife and twin girls who are going into middle school. His heart is to meet students where they are and help them navigate the culture that they are living in.