| Here’s an interesting phenomenon. Electricity provides essential services that we hardly think about. Electricity is just there for us to use. Nobody notices how reliable this is unless you ask, or unless there is a power failure—something that is quite rare here in the U.S.A. That’s a testament to excellent engineering and a stable social environment.This summer Dordt College is upgrading the electrical service in various places on campus. The panel shown at the top right will serve the computer center. Power arrives at this panel through a transformer that is connected to a main distribution line from the utility company. Thus the computer center will now have a more direct, hence more reliable source of main power. Previously the computer center was just another branch on a system that was at maximum capacity serving a number of buildings. Any serious problem in any of those buildings could have taken the whole branch down, including the computer center. (The computer center also has a battery backup, but reliable main power is also important.)On Wednesday, May 21 at 5:30 PM when the new panel (top right photo) was energized, and later when the old electrical supply was shut down and disconnected, probably nobody on campus noticed a thing, but a good thing had happened. |  A new panel is energized  New Panels power Network Equipment  Network equipment now powered from the new panels |
We do our engineering in response to our desire to serve our Creator. Being made in his image, we strive for perfection and in this case, reliable electrical power and a reliable campus computer network. But most people just don’t notice. The lack of notice for the design and world-class quality of good services provided sometimes frustrates engineers and technicians. But in another sense, the lack of notice is a high complement. Still, we ought to notice and appreciate. In this case, thanks go to our Director of Physical Plant, Stan Oordt, for noticing the need for this upgrade and coordinating the planning for it, and to all the technicians who worked on the project.
I’ll make a corny analogy here. Just like we are used to electricity (and computer networks and telephone systems and running water and any other number of services), we are also used to the loving care of our Lord. So used to it that we don’t notice it. For example, read Hebrews 1:3,
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”
Did you notice the word, “sustaining?” I have a tendency to read over phrases like this without quite catching on to the fullness of what is written. The literal meaning is that if the Lord stops “sustaining all things” then the whole world will cease to exist. We ought to take notice of all that our Lord provides!
Pull the plug on the TV network and the show ceases to exist. Pull the plug on the God of the Bible (if you could) and. . .