The name of Thomas Edison is often associated with his inventions.  He invented the microphone, the phonograph, a commercially viable incandescent light bulb, the storage battery, talking movies, and more than 1,000 other things.  But Thomas Edison wasn’t always successful in his inventions.

In December of 1914 he had worked for 10 years on a storage battery.  This had greatly strained his finances.  One particular evening spontaneous combustion broke out in the film room.  Within minutes all the packing compounds, celluloid for records and film, and other flammable goods were in flames.  Fire companies from eight surrounding towns arrived, but the heat was so intense and the water pressure so low that the attempt to douse the flames was futile.  Everything was destroyed.  Edison was 67-years-old at the time.

With all his assets going up in a whoosh (although the damage exceeded two million dollars, the buildings were only insured for $238,000 because they were made of concrete and thought to be fireproof), would his spirit be broken?

The inventor's 24-year old son, Charles, searched frantically for his father.  He finally found him, calmly watching the fire, his face glowing in the reflection, his white hair blowing in the wind.  “My heart ached for him,” said Charles.  “He was 67; no longer a young man; and everything was going up in flames.  When he saw me, he shouted, ‘Charles, where's your mother?’  When I told him I didn't know, he said, ‘Find her.  Bring her here.  She will never see anything like this as long as she lives.’”

The next morning, Edison looked at the ruins and said, “There is great value in disaster.  All our mistakes are burned up.  Thank God we can start anew.”  Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver the first phonograph.

Because of our sins, our lives are ruined and doomed to destruction (Romans 3:23; 6:23).  But God loves us so much that He gave His Son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins to bring life to our sin-ruined lives.  “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7).

God will save and give eternal life to those who place their faith and trust in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turn from their sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  Then as we walk in the light as He is in the light, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7-9).

Thank God we can start anew.

Won’t YOU accept His offer of salvation and life?

-- David A. Sargent

* Information gleaned from Charles Swindoll, Hand Me Another Brick, Thomas Nelson, 1978, pp. 82-83, and Bits and Pieces, November, 1989, p. 12, as quoted in sermon illustrations from www.sermonsearch.com.

David A. Sargent, Minister

Church of Christ at Creekwood 
1901 Schillinger Rd. S.
Mobile, Alabama  36695

Archived issues of Living Water can be viewed and accessed from our website at: www.creekwoodcc.org