The Radio

The Radio - Contributed by Jane Rager

“Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord

and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.”

(2 Peter 3:18)

         When Yogi and I were dating but not yet engaged, he was in Chicago attending electronics school.  I was in Johnstown, Pennsylvania attending nursing school.  It was a long-distance romance. 

On my twentieth birthday Yogi came back home by driving through the night with no sleep. He had saved and sacrificed to surprise with me the best present he could think of—a radio. 

To him it was an amazing state of the art piece of electronics.  To me it was a beautiful present but a bit overwhelming. My experience with radios up to this point was a box with one button to turn it on and off and control the volume and a dial to tune in AM radio stations. 

This was a beautiful box with a huge display, numerous dials and buttons—lots of them.  Yogi patiently showed me how to use the radio and explained all the different knobs.  You could actually switch from AM to a new thing called FM.   But my favorite dial was the fine-tuning dial. Instead of just locking onto a station and hoping for the best, this feature allowed me to lock on to a station and then fine tune it to get less static and a clearer sound.  I loved that dial.

As a young Christian just beginning my spiritual walk, I was able to tune in and understand the big and obvious things.  I learned the Ten Commandments and tried my best to follow them, I read my Bible but only sporadically and I prayed at meals and bedtime.  I thought I was doing just fine.

But then with the help of the Holy Spirit, I began to grow.  As my prayer life and study habits grew and deepened, I was horrified to discover that I was not just fine, I was a mess.  I learned that things I did and said with no thought at all were actually sinful.  My attitudes needed adjusting—big time.  

The interesting thing was that as soon as I felt I was getting on top of my sinful nature, the Holy Spirit would fine tune me into the less obvious sins I was committing allowing me to confess, repent and grow.  

Just as I loved that “fine tuning” dial on that radio years ago, I love the “fine tuning” the Holy Spirit continues to use and guide me in my spiritual path and to open my eyes to the truth.  I am also thankful that I serve a God who accepts my confession and repentance and gives me hope for eternal life with Him.